Michishige

This surprises me. There was a video produced by the Heya which included him. He seemed to be in good spirits and interacting well with his stablemates. I hope there isn’t a proverbial “other shoe to drop” where we find out he was abused or run out of town on a rail.

Why are they using a photo of Chiyoshoma to announce Arawashi’s intai? It’s a conspiracy!

That Abi-Asanoyama match was solid! If Abi ever adds even a second tool, he’d be in the yusho hunt every basho.

One wonders if this isn’t punishment for the misdeeds of his brother...some way to signal their dissatisfaction with the family. It could be chalked up to “effort aversion,” but that doesn’t seem like the sumo way.

Are the slots apportioned to the various ichimon depending on their relative size?

Something about seeing "pretended" in this sentence makes me giggle with passive aggressive delight!

Looking down at Juryo, Gagamaru is now make-koshi. Unless he miraculously runs the table, I suspect he'll be on his way to retirement soon...if not this basho, than after the next basho when he fails to get back to Juryo from upper Makushita. Maybe I'm being premature, but I'll miss him. I have found him entertaining over the years.

Red...the color of love! Perfect for a soon-to-be newlywed!

I'm glad that I'm not the only person who has considered that he might not be the "marrying kind." I've suspected that for several years, simply based on how stoic he appears in public and how closed off he's traditionally been. That would be difficult for a high-profile sekitori.

The biggest thing Takakeisho had going for him was that he didn't seem to "think" much during his fighting. He just went out, sort of slack-jawed, and did what came naturally to him. That's the best sort of mindset for a premier athlete. If he has lost that, it's going to take a lot to get back to his old form...it's like having the yips in golf.

I was pleased to see that Aoiyama (one of the 7-7 rikishi) caught a break this time. Because Abi (7-7) hadn’t fought Kotoshogiku (also 7-7) yet (and had already faced Aoiyama), Aoiyama gets Daieisho who has already gotten his KK. Not that I think anything fishy will happen, but I suspect Aoiyama will have a lot more motivation than will Daieisho even with the sanyaku nod on the line.

He's certainly gotten a bit of good luck with Takakeisho going kyujo. That was going to be a difficult bout for him given his 1-6 matchup record.

Is that Chiyoshoma smiling?!? I don't know which it is, but I feel like I've never seen it before...

Perhaps I'm not being sufficiently charitable, but I rather suspect it's less mental toughness and more a lack of deep mental activity. I don't get the sense that Takakeisho is someone who ponders much beyond his immediate circumstance. This probably allows him to avoid the sort of anxious anticipation that plagued Kisenosato over the years.

Poor guy. He won his match to move to 6-0, but I can’t help but agree that he looks like a shell of his former self.