Highway

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Posts posted by Highway

  1. Posted

    My man Aoiyama can beat the simpler guys, but he seems to have no ideas vs stronger opponents....guess that's why he is where he is, pretty straightforward.

    I'll say this...of all the sumo wrestlers, Tochinoshin is the last one I'd want to fight in a back alley. Georgian beast indeed. He can easily be ozeki one day soon.

    Hakuho will come back big in January is my prediction.

     

  6. Posted

    wow, super surprised at Hakuho last match. I really...can't buy that he would actually throw the match, but that was just the most careless I've seen him, in a majorly important match at least. And he didn't even seem that bothered or the least bit surprised with the loss, which was also strange.

    I am sure that Goeido will put up a decent fight tomorrow though, it's not over yet.

  7. Posted

    Complete joke. Aoiyama won that match 100%. Goeido also technically touched the ground first the match before, but they correctly judged that he had the momentum and was the rightful winner. Same situation here, but they gave it to Kise...for fun. They really screwed over Aoiyama with M2 this basho, and now not giving him very clear victories....

    • Like 1

  10. Posted

    Wow that is the fastest I can remember to have seen Hakuhou lose a bout. Very unusual, and he had a shocked look on his face. But what an entertaining basho......4 way tie, and I'd be very surprised if there isn't some kind of playoff at the end. If I was forced to pick, at this point I would possibly go with Terunofuji. He really displays confidence.

  14. Posted

    Heart-stopping basho, one of the most exciting ones I've seen.

    I must agree though, nothing against Terunofuji, but he was very fortunate to come away with the cup. Some questionable referring decisions went against Hakuho, though he also lost way more than usual, plus Terunofuji never had to fight Haru, never beat Hakuho himself, and Kakuryu of course was out injured. Exciting but weird basho, in which there really wasn't a clear winner - but Terunofuji walks away with it. He deserves to be ozeki though.

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    What a crazy final day coming up indeed.

    But I fully expect Hakuho and Terunofuji to both win and secure the playoff, with Hakuho likely taking that as well. It's still very hard to bet against him. But I would love it if they actually lost and we got a super playoff as well, I'll be rooting for Kise if so.

  16. Posted

    Feel bad for Kise, he goes on some mini runs where he looks impressive, but can't sustain in for long enough. Still, he sometimes give Hakuho a good match.

    And nothing wrong with Goeido's henka....exactly how much bigger is Kaisei than him? In most other sports they wouldn't even be allowed to compete against each other.

  17. Posted

    Question about stables, which is one area I've never really read much about....is there any rule to how often stable-mates can face off against each other? As in, I think I heard they generally seek to avoid putting stable-mates against each other, but Aoi wrestles Takyasi pretty much every baso, and used to go up against Kise when he was ranked higher up...

    Aoiyama isn't in the same stable as Kisenosato and Takayasu; the Tagonoura-beya that Aoiyama was a member of closed down a few years ago and he's in Kasugano-beya today. The Tagonoura-beya with Kise and Takayasu is a completely different entity that just has the same name.

    Members of the same stable are never paired up, except in a yusho playoff.

    Ah, I see....I suppose the wikipedia info is out of date then: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_sumo_wrestlers

  18. Posted

    Question about stables, which is one area I've never really read much about....is there any rule to how often stable-mates can face off against each other? As in, I think I heard they generally seek to avoid putting stable-mates against each other, but Aoi wrestles Takyasi pretty much every baso, and used to go up against Kise when he was ranked higher up...

  19. Posted

    Really liked seeing my man Aoiyama shove out the ozeki with such ease today, that's what he can do at his best - strength and weight that's gonna be tough for anyone.

    Trouble is, he has almost no resiliency. He takes a wrong step, momentum goes against him, and you can be pretty sure it's all over. It's all or nothing with Aoi. It is going to be pretty interesting tomorrow vs Kaisei, they're not too different from each other....but would love to see him get his kk.

    Terunofuji has done so well recently you actually think he had a solid chance against Hakuho. But it was not meant to be, I think the champion will be retaining the cup this basho. Unless Kise has other plans, but he just never displays that championship-winning mentality at the end.

  20. Posted

    Well you're right that the current crop of Ozeki really aren't putting up good numbers - only Kisenasato has at least been somewhat in the running in the last few days in past tournaments, from what I recall. However, I think there is a much bigger difference between say yokozuna and ozeki than ozeki and sekiwake...to be a yokozuna, you don't just need good numbers, you need to be winning entire bashos. Though ironically it's also the only one from which you can't be demoted....

    But he is meeting the minimum standarsts at least, it is why he is still an Ozeki. Like it or not, kachi-koshi is all that is needed. If they wanted to maintain a higher standard, they should bump that up to 9 wins minimum, but that's not on the cards.

    Goeido deserves every bit of criticism he gets and i could care less how hard he tries or his limited ability. If he could not perform at the championship ranks then he should not have been promoted (Scraping a .500 record as oz). If Ichi (been disappointed with him this basho) or Osu get promoted to ozeki then I would at least expect them to flirt with DD in a calendar year. It just devalues the Ozeki rank (which for the longest time was the summit) to have rank holders that cannot meet its standards even on an intermittent basis. That is a different level of responsibility than a rising guy toiling in the junior sanyaku ranks and getting tossed back to the pack if they fail to perform.

    I thought that ozeki are essentially yokuzuna in everything but name/ring entrance ceremony? regardless, to me there is a higher standards/expectations to meet as an ozeki. single digit wins each basho seems pretty crappy for those a rank away from yokuzuna. I would expect them to be a bit more of a challenge.

  21. Posted

    But he is meeting the minimum standarsts at least, it is why he is still an Ozeki. Like it or not, kachi-koshi is all that is needed. If they wanted to maintain a higher standard, they should bump that up to 9 wins minimum, but that's not on the cards.

    Goeido deserves every bit of criticism he gets and i could care less how hard he tries or his limited ability. If he could not perform at the championship ranks then he should not have been promoted (Scraping a .500 record as oz). If Ichi (been disappointed with him this basho) or Osu get promoted to ozeki then I would at least expect them to flirt with DD in a calendar year. It just devalues the Ozeki rank (which for the longest time was the summit) to have rank holders that cannot meet its standards even on an intermittent basis. That is a different level of responsibility than a rising guy toiling in the junior sanyaku ranks and getting tossed back to the pack if they fail to perform.

  23. Posted

    Wow, I rarely comment on gyoji decisions, but it seemed like there were two big ones called wrong today. Kisenosato v Tochinoshin should have been a re-do, it seemed way too close for anyone to decide there was a clear winner there. But even more so Harumafuji - Sadanoumi -- in the first bout the latter's body clearly touched the ground first, I mean it wasn't even nearly as close as the Kisenosato match. So two big decisions that could be deciding for the cup at the end...