Tiger Tanaka

Kakuryu looked keen to go in Kyushu before news of kyujo due to another hampered injury. My gut told me it was a calculated decision since the next basho was fly or intai, that he must be sure to be 100%. Today was incredibly positive and potentially his best match since Kyushu of 2016. Came out aggressive and relentless on Hokutofuji and right when Hok picked the time to fight back with everything Kak pulled the throw down. Brilliant. A lot of positive to take from the Kise fight. He looked stronger. Not quite pre-injury strength, but he absorbed Takekeisho's oshi attacks which are some of the fiercest in sumo. He just got too eager when he saw Takekeisho up against the bales and went in hard at the wrong moment, which allowed Takekeisho to make a very impressive arm bar throw. I do worry that the early loss might get into Kise's head. It would be such a shame that when he finally starts to overcome his past injury, his head gets in the way of returning to Yokozuna sumo. Let's go Mitakeumi! Both Ozeki also looked in good form on Day 1. Could be a very competitive basho if Hakuho's toe is hampering him again. Also I remember we discussed Kotoshogiku not doing his big stretch on senshuraku in November. Didn't do it again on Day 1. I miss it.

Sanyaku picks for day 1 Tamawashi over Chiyotairyu: I'm not a fan of Tom Mawashi aka Tom Belt, but he's been demonstrating some quality sumo and he's going to come out on fire wanting to show that Kyushu is the start of an Ozeki run Mitakeumi over Kotoshogiku: Mitakeumi has won 6 of his last 7 matchups against Geek, will need to see if some of his nagging injuries from Kyushu have subsided Yoshikaze over Takayasu: Yoshikaze looked banged up by the end of Kyushu, but he's 6-2 in his last 8 matchups against Takayasu who isn't 100% physically or mentally IMO Goeido over Ichinojo: I have a feeling Kyushu will be an aberration for Ichi and that he's due for a big MK now that he's firmly in the JOI. Goeido wins easily. Kakuryu over Hokutofuji: Kak draws the toughest day 1 matchup, but I believe he will handle Hokutofuji who might come out too aggressive with too much forward lean, which sets up well for Kakuryu. Takekeisho over Kisenosato: Hope I'm wrong here, I like both rikishi but Kise is obviously in a more precarious position. From the great preparation threads by @Kintamayama it just doesn't seem like Kise has regained his upper body strength yet. There are few weak areas in the JOI this basho and Kise will struggle to get 10 wins. Hakuho over Onosho: I wouldn't have been surprised if Hak skipped this basho given that he just won and wanted to make a point with all the controversy going on. But now that he's in, he might be a little rusty, but I still see a 14-1 or 13-2 yusho for Hak. Highlight matches of the day: Kakuryu vs Hokutofuji and Tamawashi vs Chiyotairyu. Also looking forward to Terunofuji vs Chiyomaru. SUMO IS BACK! Let's enjoy these next 15 days friends. Cheers!

Hakuho 4 Kakuryu 1 Mitakeumi 1

Let's see how much I can make a fool of myself one year from now :) Hakuho Y1 Kisenosato Takayasu O1 Mitakeumi Goeido O2

I'll take the unpopular opinion that Kakuryu will do quite well and could be in yusho contention if Hakuho does not participate. He was training very well before Kyushu and it was a bit of a surprise to many when he pulled out due to another injury. I'm wondering if that injury was just significant to not risk participating in November, since he's been told he must perform at Yokozuna level next time her participates or will face intai. The additional two months of healing could get him where he needs to be. If Hakuho were to pull out, no one else has really shown the ability to go better than 12-3. Terunofuji and Takayasu have been too beat up and Goeido too inconsistent though he would be my second pick. Mitakeumi, Onosho, Hokutofuji, and Takekeisho could all potentially take their sumo to the next level in 2018, but who's to say that January is the month to do that. I believe Kisenosato may be over his injuries, it's just now about building all the strength he's lost after not being able to train. It might be best for him to take another basho off and continue rebuilding his strength, but if he participates I could see him making a run at 12 wins.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and a happy and healthy 2018! 2017 was my introduction to Sumo. In February, I began following this wonderful sport. In March, I found and joined these forums filled with wonderful people with endless knowledge from years of experience of following the sport. I want to thank everyone for being so welcoming and informative as I began picking up the sport. In these past 9 months, I've been lucky enough to watch the first Japanese born Yokozuna in many years perform and win a yusho in his debut at the Yokozuna rank, travel to Japan and witness sumo at the Kokugikan in Tokyo in May, buy authentic sumo souvenirs during my stay in Tokyo, meet rikishi and take pictures up close of many of my favorites, eat chanko, and much more! I've also now been through the covering of a scandal within the sport for the first time during my following. It's been quite an exciting and fun ride and I find myself more fascinated with this sport each day and look forward to more great discussion with you all in 2018!

In just before the deadline. Found this one tricky with Terunofuji tumbling down and a lot of the mid to mid-low maegashira really struggling. Good luck everyone - get your entries in before tomorrow's deadline!

Kotoshogiku's senshuraku match was quite interesting. I've only been watching Sumo since March, but this was the first time I've ever seen Geek not do his patented pump up stretch before the final call to the match. Then a matta and a very slow tachiai for both. The match itself seemed lethargic and Ichinojo seemed to lack the new energy we've seen him fighting with this basho. Does anyone know when rikishi of Kotoshogiku's status announce retirement? Can it be at any time (during tournament, after match, after tournament, etc.)? Any additional information would be greatly helpful! I hope Geek continues as he is one of my favorites, but after a long great career, fighting back to Komusubi and finishing with two wins in front of his hometown fans, this would be a pretty decent ending.

I noticed Mitakeumi has been wearing a mouthguard the last two days, most prominently during day 9 coverage. Anyone know what happened? Just a busted mouth from previous basho? Been traveling past couple days so I haven't been able to see much extended coverage or read up on further results. With Kise, I wonder if it's not so much the injury any longer, but the lack of strength due to inability to train during the recovery time. Without proper training, it looks like Kise has lost some weight and it could potentially be muscle weight that he has not been able to build and sustain. The best path might be to go kyujo in January and take the next 3-4 months to dedicate to strength and conditioning training.

Aminishiki doing some sort of voodoo magic to stay in and win that one. Some great bouts today! Amin hasn't had to resort to many tricks yet either, would be amazing if he could work his way back up to joi and get a 9th kinboshi. Looking forward to Tamawashi v. Yoshikaze tomorrow which should be a slug fest, would be a good match candidate to see first blood of basho for Yoshikaze. Miktakeumi vs Onosho and Takakeisho vs. Takayasu should be a couple solid matches as well.

Really hard to watch Terunofuji right now as he is clearly in a ton of pain. He didn't mount a single offensive attack against Yoshikaze on day 3. There was a brief moment where Yoshi paused and instead of going on the attack, Terunofuji just waited and retreated further until the inevitable push out. 10 wins is essentially an impossibility at this point and the only question is will he continue to fight on one leg to prevent a tumble down the banzuke or go kyujo to start the healing process. Mitakeumi's stability is one of his best qualities, but it's clearly a little vulnerable with that toe injury at the moment. Thinking he will really fight to get those 8 wins, before some much needed rest into the new year. Top 3 are clearly Hak, Goeido, Takayasu at the moment (in that order in my opinion). Really looking forward to Kisenosato vs Takekeisho tomorrow, a true test to see really how close to full health Kise is against Takekeisho's fierce oshi attack.

Poor Aoiyama, that looked like a lot of stress on that ankle and leg. Hope it is not as bad as it sounds. Aoiyama's been a mainstay in the top division for 5+ years culminating in a jun-yusho in Nagoya. Wishing him a speedy recovery. Will save comments for the disturbing Harumafuji news once the new thread is open.

The first one from my view was absolutely Tamawashi. He was in ready position and Kise put his hands down and then charged to no reaction from Tamawashi. Which is why I believe Kise gave him the extra push when going up to him. The rest might have been retaliation mind games. Regardless, Tamawashi is involved in these situations far too often it seems.

A little worried about Kisenosato. After pushing Tamawashi near the bales, his left hand was free to grab the belt, but he instead opted to continue pushing. Very rare technique for a guy who is a master of yotsu-zumo. I was happy to see Kise show some frustration after the bout, I do think he's getting closer to return to form. Really wish Tamawashi would stop with the tachiai games. He has to be the leader in mattas caused. Takayasu looked a lot stronger than what it sounded like coming into the basho. Terunofuji on the other hand looks greatly hampered still. What a joy to see Aminishki win in his return to Makuuchi and with great form & execution. Thank goodness Sumo is back! 14 more days of sumo goodness to round out the year. Lets sit back and enjoy friends!

Has there been any further update on Takanoiwa? Hoping he can come back after a couple days absence to put up 5-7 wins and protect is Makuuchi status.

First MK at 55 points (7-8). Must gamberize, better prepare, and execute my brand of GTB better for Hatsu. Congrats @Asashosakari!

Counting 55 for myself. Higher than my performance last basho (53), but lower than my debut (61). Looking back there are a few clear mistakes, but not bad all together. Hopefully I can gambarize to a double digit KK :) Great work @Gurowake and @Asashosakari, two impressive scores worthy of a yusho!

Congrats to Harumafuji on #9! I don't think we will be seeing an intai over the next couple days :) Mitakeumi struggled to get his KK, needs to come back improved in November when some of the top rankers will be back. Welcome back to sanyaku Kotoshogiku! Welcome back to Makuuchi Aminishki, Kotoyuki, and Myogiru! Another fun and wild basho, with it being the 4th I've followed from day to day since starting following sumo, is this just the norm? It seems like I've only seen one by the numbers normal basho! Looking forward to getting every nugget of jungyo information I can from you fine people while we all eagerly await Kyushu!

One of the highlights of the day after watching the sumo highlights is to come on here and see the promotion/demotion update from @Asashosakari Always appreciate your efforts and analysis. It gives me good context for the next day on key matches and storylines to keep an eye on. Hoping Aminishki can pull off 10 wins to emphatically establish himself in the Makuuchi division again!

He has had a look of dejection that I haven't seen from him during my short time watching sumo. Looking at his recent records however, 13-2: Nagoya 2016 12-3: Aki 2016 11-4: Kyushu 2016 4-3-8: Hatsu 2017 10-5: Haru 2017 11-4: Natsu 2017 11-4: Nagoya 2017 Even 10-5 is respectable in my opinion in an era where we have 4 Y and 3 O. If he were the only Yokozuna consistently and putting up 10 and 11 win records, then sure that is really alarming. But having 4/5 losses among such steep competition is still quality. This basho might be the start of there being serious concern, as he is the only Yokozuna present and was expected to be in the yusho race to the end. I wouldn't call him done yet. There is a small chance he goes intai this basho, but my guess is it happens some time in 2018.

Shohozan: No one cares less about their face than me, look at my eye! Yoshikaze: Hold my beer.

Wakaichiro gets his win to move back to an even 2-2. Needs to go 2-1 over his last 3 matches to secure KK and promotion to Sandanme. Ganbatte Wakaichiro!

Aminishki at 3-0, off to a great start. If he can go 6-6 or better the rest of the way, it would be a likely promotion back to the top division. Long way to go, but how could would that be for the soon to be 39 year old.

With Harumafuji out of the way, it's certainly set up for the best case scenario to happen. I think he will cap out at 10-11 wins, but would love if he stays in contention to the end. Ganbatte Geek!

Definitely pulling for Kotoshogiku to get his KK and perhaps even 10 wins with the light banzuke this time around, but yusho contender seems highly unlikely. He's only had 1 strong win of his first 3 matches and his knees and balance fail him too often to have the consistency to put up a 13-2 or 12-3 that might get into a playoff. Glad to see Mitakeumi bounce back. I thought he was too aggressive on day 2 trying to overcompensate for his day 1 loss. Today he stayed aggressive, but in control. I still think Harumafuji will win this basho at 13-2, but this definitely threw a wrench into those plans. It only gets more interesting from here! Onosho to face Terunofuji who showed great strength today. And Harumafuji looks to bounce back against Hokutofuji, whom he manhandled in Nagoya.