Kaninoyama

Too bad, but probably for the best. I love his upside, but I think he needs a little more size and seasoning before he can establish himself as a sekitori.

Thrilled to see Midorifuji in the Makushita Yusho hunt. I've been touting him on here for a while now. If he can somehow manage to go Zensho and achieve promotion to Juryo, he'll join the growing ranks of exciting small-stature rikishi in the Sekitori ranks.

Looks like ex-Yoshikaze Nakamura is in the NHK broadcast booth today. Look forward to hearing him reflect on his career.

That's right. Juryo match-ups were already arranged and announced, but since someone will have to step up to Makuuchi, those go out the window as well.

Takakeisho is beginning to find his form. A convincing win over Meisei.

Additional info on Takayasu's sudden kyujo is that he hurt his back.

Asanoyama's win today puts him the lead in total wins for the year.

Apparently with the sudden Takayasu kyujo, the match-ups for tomorrow need to be reconfigured.

According to the reporter talking to Yutakayama after their bout: Yuktayama asked Konosuke what the deal was with the 1st Matta. Konosuke replied: He felt the two didn't have "intention to charge" the first time so he called a matta, but he sensed they did have "intent to charge" the second time, so he allowed it. So there you have it.

NHK broadcast just showed him limping out of the venue, and the announcers confirmed that he is kyujo.

Another win for Konosuke?

That pretty much describes him. And if you've only been watching for a few months, you missed him when he was a regular Sanyaku visitor and Joi mainstay. Like recently retired Aminishiki, his physique belies his tremendous skill. When I first saw him I was flabbergasted that someone built like him could be so good at sumo, but he is that good. Unfortunately, a terrible injury threw a wrench in his career, but the fact that he has been able to fight his way back to Sekitori status in his mid thirties speaks to both his skill and his tenacity.

Takayasu looking more like his normal self with a convincing win over Tamawashi. Takakeisho likewise.

Not fully recovered from his injury + unable to train fully leading up to the tourney. If he secures his eight wins it'll be a successful basho for him.

Having had opportunity to watch him train close up (like reach-out-and-touch-him-close-up) for the past four years, I can confirm that he is a beast of a man even among other beasts of men. A tall, rock-solid mass of muscle, and not at all fleshy like a typical rikishi. Unfortunately, he moves how you think someone of his physique would move--stiffly--which limits what he is capable of, but yeah, he's not someone you'd like to make angry.