Kaninoyama

Right near my home but decided not to go as ticket prices were about the same as for a honbasho.

Tai.

Maybe it's recency bias but my vague recollection is that while young Miyabiyama was certainly an impressive force during his rise to Ozekihood, I don't remember him being as powerful, dominant, or as polished as Onosato has been. Hopefully Onosato can avoid injuries and continue to ascend unlike Miyabiyama.

One-of-a-kind.

If not for his injuries, Tomokaze would have owned this category.

Sorry to see him exit stage left but the writing had been on the wall for some time. Always a game performer you could count on to give it his all every time he stepped up onto the dohyo.

I'm still optimistic about Shirokuma's prospects in Makuuchi, if for no other reason than I really want there to be a Makuuchi rikishi named Shirokuma.

Agree. Feels like the early betting favorite for Fukuoka. Looks completely healthy and back in form.

Hananokuni looks so much like my father-in-law, right down to his crew cut, glasses, and limping walk, that my wife and I do a double take every time we see him and she calls home to confirm that he's there and not at the Kokugikan.

Some rikishi are just late bloomers.

He was barely able to do any keiko leading up to the basho, still nursing prior injuries (went kyujo the previous basho as a reminder). Still just 25. Still filling out his body. Has a pretty good mentor. Think it's still a bit too early to write him off completely as a yokozuna hopeful.

The notion that Takakeisho "can't communicate" is simply not true. Which is obvious if you've ever seen him talking outside the dohyo, such as on the variety show circuit during promotions for upcoming basho. On which he is always engaging and has a great sense of humor. Rather, as with Kisenosato, they both adopted a stoic Showa-style rikishi "samurai/warrior spirit" approach to their sumo careers. I don't know if he'll end up being as talkative as Kisenosato in retirement. But the gruff, reticent guy we saw on the dohyo is not necessarily who he is outside of it.

I was among those who were quite early aboard the Sato train. And I remember that quite a few members of this forum were much slower to join. Most of whom were insistent that a squat, short-armed pushing specialist would never amount to much.

Remember watching him exit a taxi and walk (more like shuffle) up the walkway toward the entrance to the Kokugikan shortly after he reached Juryo. He was so stubby and rotund that he could barely walk and cut a wholly unimpressive figure compared to many of his fellow rikishi. Who could have guessed at the time that he would surpass most of them and reach the heights that he did?

Takayasu...