Michishige

Ichinojo having a drinking problem would explain his highly variable performances over the last few years. Looks great one day, drops like a sack of potatoes the next…hangovers and dehydration from drinking could legitimately explain that. I’m wishing well for everyone involved, especially the oyakata and his wife who seem to be almost terrorized at this point.

Is there any precedent for temporarily expanding the ranks of Juryo and/or Makuuchi? I bet they could alleviate some of the fairness concerns by simply making room for promotees from Makushita who would be negatively impacted by the freezing of the banzuke. They could perhaps do this with the acknowledgment that the ranks would shrink again for the December basho.

Looking at the Makushita banzuke, it’s clear that Asanoyama isn’t the only one who will suffer from a generalized freeze in the rankings. All four of the top wrestlers have their kachi-koshi and are promotable to Juryo, yet they might all get stuck in Makushita (earning a pittance) if rankings are frozen. It’s a sad affair!

Talk about some malicious compliance! I love to see it and hope the video room will refuse to resume their assistant with calling mono-ii until some public acknowledgment of their helpfulness is made. Definitely not an apology, though…I’m not an idiot and know that will never happen.

I sincerely feel bad for Inosuke in a lot of ways. He must feel some pressure to continue on despite his age and infirmity, given the prestige factor of the job and the Kyokai’s focus on tradition. On the other hand, this basho has shown that he’s no longer up to the job. Many would say he hasn’t been up to the job for a while now, if ever, but it’s clear that he isn’t up to it at the present moment. He should retire and avoid tarnishing his reputation any further.

Oh, you’ll find a number of sumo references in this and other FF games! Final Fantasy Dissidia Opera Omnia also has Tifa yell “hatakikomi” when she does one of her special attacks.

I must correct you, dear sir. If you include the 0-2 record of his alter-ego Chiyoshoma, I’m sure you’ll see that Arawashi was only 1-2 against Hakuho.

He’s only one board member…I suppose we can hope he isn’t representative of the rest (though that’s probably silly on my part).

So if his being there was as the Mongolian Olympic ambassador, could that possibly make all of this a misunderstanding? One would hate to see him banished from sumo altogether over this.

Yes, I agree. I edited my previous post…I was led astray by modern convenience.

According to Wikipedia he is…maybe I shouldn’t blindly trust that, though.

Akebono is part-Japanese. Hakuho, as far as I know, is not. Of course, I didn’t recall Akebono’s involvement. Nor did I ask the question maliciously. I was merely curious and, thus, appreciate the informative responses I’ve received. Edit: I’m going to take back this claim about Akebono. Wikipedia says he is American-Japanese, but I think they are referring to his current citizenship. Sorry to confuse.

Has the Japanese Olympic Committee confirmed that he will be a part of the opening ceremony? I find that kind of fascinating…a non-native Japanese person representing their national sport on the global stage seems very unusual for Japan. He clearly deserves the Olympic honor, but he also deserves the toshiyori kabu and won’t be getting that.

I’ll be glad to see the back of Hakuho after the last two days of disgraceful displays. Congratulations…take your trophy and go home.

This is a very interesting tidbit. Am I wrong to be reading this as Asanoyama potentially getting promoted if he wins versus Takakeisho tomorrow? I’d be surprised if they decide to promote him under the circumstances, but I suppose weirder things have happened. One thing is clear, however...Asanoyama has looked quite excellent despite the recent set of losses.