Zenjimoto

I am not so sure that their case in court will have much chance. Let's keep something in mind here: the Rikishi are employed by the Kyokai. I look at it in this way: if one is employed somewhere, there is always a chance their employment can be terminated, especially when there is evidence or even suspicion of fraudulent behavior. As an employee one can fight the dismissal, but ultimately unless there was some sort of discrimination involved I don't think there is all that much that can be done about it, unless there is a strong union structure in place... which in this case I don't think there is. If one was working in a company where a colleague was fired due to fraud, and that colleague named one as a co-conspirator, chances are excellent that one will get the boot as well. If you were running a company, would you keep someone on board after such serious allegations were made? And why would a colleague drag one into the mud at that point... there is nothing to gain from it - the only reason would be a personal enmity with the accused.

Given your current health situation, I think it's very moving that you are able to even spare a thought about something as trivial as sumo games. I suspect that there would be several unknowns that may throw up glitches in the automation, possibly resulting in a chaos... perhaps the safest route would be to sit this one out in any games that can be considered borderline to avoid potentially massive needed manual adjustments later?

Although mostly quietly, I am following your treatment progress with great concern. Many thanks for keeping us posted. What can one say, other than I wish you all the strength to fight this SOB, and I am very eagerly awaiting good news of your success!

(Shaking head...)

(Shaking head...) (Crowned...) (First prize...) (Cloverleaf...) (Big fish...) (Zabuton flying...) (Doing a wave...) (Bow...) (Hugging...) (Punk rocker...) B-) (Shaking head...) (Yusho winner...) :-)

The multiple elimination bracket I had in mind would be such that once you lose, you maybe get another shot at the big prize through the one-time losers' bracket. If you lose again, you'd be out for the title, but would still be facing other losers on other days to determine placings in the lower ranks and earn ranking points to move further up the next banzuke. This way every rikishi would fight roughly the same amount of bouts each tournament, except their stakes in that basho decrease with each kuroboshi. Meanwhile the winners continue to face more winners, until they lose, and face the losers of the same round, etc. A bit complex, but by no means un-doable. I think there would be plenty of newcomers who would be able to make at least a moderate impact. Even if they lost to the Sanyaku in the first round, they would get another shot and with some luck may beat a sekitori, and move on from there to finish in the top-32 or better. If not, they can gather more ranking points against their loser-peers, and get a much better seed next basho... Meanwhile, the top rankers who are off their game get caught pretty quickly. No lingering around at Ozeki or mid-Juryo for years if you don't have it in you anymore! Another possibility might be that lower rankers face each other first, and can work their way up into the BIG bracket by overcoming their peers in rank and getting a few wins under their belt, then face off with increasingly higher ranked opponents as the tourney matures.

Give me a break. It's 2011. Not allowing cell phones is like not allowing indoor plumbing or food refrigeration. Besides, a ban would be completely un-enforceable. Even prisoners regularly have cellphones at their disposal, and they are in... well... prison! ;-) Another thing, cranking up the draconism of sumo won't do it any good. Already youngsters don't want to join the sport, and would rather dabble in the freer, cooler other sports, rather than living in a heya as slaves - at least for a while, until they're good enough to start doing Yaocho :-( My suggestion would be to switch the salary/prize money system to a merit-based system in accordance with Basho results, not with mere rank. While the Banzuke system could remain in place, I would reform its "calculation" to more closely resemble ELO-type points, directly based on how Rikishi did in the Basho. Instead of the current division-based tournaments, I propose ONE giant tournament as a huge multiple-elimination bracket, where in theory anybody on the Banzuke gets a shot at THE big (and ONLY) Yusho. This way, strong newcomers won't need to suffer in obscurity for a year and a half working their way up the Banzuke, and the Yaocho problem should be going away, as a loss most of the time means elimination from the tourney, and therefore less ranking points, a drop in standing, and/or less win bonus money, etc. :-) The Banzuke is then used to "seed" the tournament bracket in a top vs. bottom manner. Divisional mini-Yusho prizes could still be handed out for the top performers of each division, not dissimilar to how some sumo games do. I realize that doing away with the "traditional" Banzuke system is a loss in terms of sumo history, but a "revised" Banzuke system could still hold the same beauty in being a calligraphic masterpiece, with all the same ranks intact... simply the rules of promotion an demotion different (and yes, it would put an end to GTB, because we could actually "Calculate TB" at any time). I think it would be a more realistic way of fixing the inherent problem at the root, without really destroying the basic structures. I actually think that an elimination bracket system could be a lot more exciting than the current format.

Maybe this has been mentioned, but I remember some time ago, Takanohana raised some eyebrows by making some pretty drastic suggestions for reforming Ozumo - shrugged off by the establishment at the time. I can't remember what the all suggestions were, but one I do remember was the abandonment of the heya system. I wonder if it wouldn't be a wise move to make Takanohana the new BOSS. He is still the golden boy of the golden era of Ozumo that many Japanese remember fondly to this day, his image is squeaky clean, and popularity widespread nationally and even abroad. By putting him in charge of implementing his and perhaps additional reforms and making fundamental changes to the way sumo is managed and presented, the NSK could perhaps regain the public's support and attention through use of this charismatic young figure that would appeal to old-timers (who clamor with nostalgia for the waka-taka days) as well as a younger generation (a good looking dude who's not fat but used to be a mega-champion, etc.) Anybody happen to have the link to the reforms he suggested at the time?

I think it's time that some of the retired, ousted, and banned rikishi get together and make their own little sumo association, putting on one-day events at cities around the world! Who would we have by now? Quite a nice list of recent and less recent retirees who elected to leave the NSK structure, plus the banned ones... plus possibly ones who will be banned - led by Asashoryu and Kotomitsuki. Throw a couple amateur sumo greats, and a surprise old-timer like Akebono into the mix, and we've got ourselves a show! :-/

(Yusho winner...) YEHEY!!! Awesome! (Clapping wildly...)

(Clapping wildly...)

Remember when you considered making X picks more valuable at e.g. 0.55 points because people didn't find it worth it to use them? (Spooky TV program...) Briefly (Sigh...) But obviously decided against it. Ultimately I think there's no real need to reward x-picking more, in a way it's good that the x-picks have not become a major factor/tool/strategy of the game. Generally the simpler things stay, the better. I also wasn't really convinced that changing the shukun-sho formula was the right thing to do (as ONE outstanding performance should be enough to clinch the prize, just like in real - as long as the player has KK), but I do not dislike the top-3. Conceivably if the Shukun-sho had stayed at ONE day, the top-3 could have been used as the tiebreaker instead. But the possibilities are many... :-D

It's solved. Sumo Game remains the most solid of all games... in all the years I played, I only remember this ONE glitch, but memory may elude me. :)

Meh. I'm no fan of the change, as you can imagine. The rules were fairly well thought out at inception, and the reason it's called Sekitori-Toto is... that all Sekitori are created equal (i.e. not Makunouchi-Toto) (Sigh...) That being said, it's not my baby anymore. (Spooky TV program...) So I guess it is what it is. (Poking the other guy...)

The plot thickens. As far as what's wrong with second accounts, I can only say that there are many games where many veteran players have played a long time, some of them several times narrowly missing out on a Yusho. I distinctly remember Feginowaka missing out on a very coveted GTB Yusho, because another player had entered at least 3 picks under different names, and one of them ended up winning the Yusho (GTB is a classic example of a game that offers huge advantages of making multiple entries). While one may argue that these games aren't to be taken too seriously, and one might have a point, it is nevertheless aggrevating and disappointing when incidents like that one in GTB occur. It becomes doubly annoying when there are actual prizes offered, such as in GTB, pass-on prizes in BenchSumo, or formerly the prized offered in Sekitori-Toto and Sekitori-Oracle.

Entered! :) Minor detail, can you please change my flag on the Banzuke to USA. Thanks :)

Mmmmmh... Wurstbr

Already acknowledged for the upcoming Seki banzuke trio. (Neener, neener...) ;-) Thank you!

Great work once again! I am very pleased to return to Ozeki rank ;-) For the record, I'll be competing under the American flag henceforth. (I am not worthy...)

"I will make an utmost effort to not taint the honorable status" And that will basically play a big part in defining Baruto's career as Ozeki and beyond. He's had a few run-ins with controversy already, and as Ozeki the bar will be raised even higher in terms of conduct. Here's hoping that he will not become the new favorite punching bag of the forces against foreigners after Asashoryu's departure. On a personal note, I once posted on this forum my belief that Baruto will never be Ozeki due to his recurring knee problems, since such injury-prone rikishi can't compete consistently enough, despite their talents. I am glad to see that at least for the time being he seems to have found ways to beat these injuries, and I wish him good health and much success in the years to come! (On the banzuke...)

(Going kyujo...)

Zenjimoto: MW: Baruto ML: Tamawashi JW: Gagamaru JL: Asofuji Youchiken: MW: Hokutoriki ML: Toyohibiki JW: Sadanofuji JL: Daido Chikenshitenku: MW: Okinoumi ML: Kyokutenho JW: Shotenro JL: Masuraumi

As announced after the previous tournament, I am going INTAI in all waves due to persistent patheticness in this game! (In a state of confusion...) (Beaten...) (Tears forming...) (Beaten...) (Blushing...) (Going kyujo...) (Shaking head...) (Lifting weights...) >>>>> (Bow...) (Danpatsu-shiki...)