Wasabeefu

Great basho. Juryo playoff was good, especially the last two matches: the first for the fighting and the second for the mind games (and the "emotional" fist pump). Top division final also very satisfying. Terunofuji's win over Mitakeumi was convincing, and Asanoyama's finish as well. Would a playoff been more dramatic? Sure...but then I thought back to the last time I saw Terunofuji in an a Makuuchi playoff, and would not want a repeat of that for anyone involved... Not one, but two M17 yushos in 2020. Truth is stranger than fiction, this year more than ever!

All good suggestions, thanks!

Well, what's to say that hasn't been said? Great Day 14. Solid finish of the tourney from Mitakeumi. Was rooting for Terunofuji, but can't stand mattas...with that tachiai I'm not disappointed by his loss. Loved the leg grab by Terutsuyoshi for the kk and all the drama. Didn't even realize the situation brewing in juryo. And to think at Day 10 this looked like Hakuho would be cruising to another yusho... Is the AbemaTV coverage still restreamed live by someone on Youtube? Looks like a finish worth staying up for today.

Just caught up on the previous two days. Great matches by Terunofuji. Big suprises with Hakuho. Still 2 days to go. What a tournament!

A few random thoughts... I'm a bit surprised to not see (m)any comments here about the Tochinoshin-Terunofuji bout. I thought it was a great "power sumo" match, but it is still surreal to me to see these two former Ozeki so low on the banzuke. Really nice to Terunofuji battle back. Also impressive is to see Kotoshogiku getting the kk. Say what you will about him, while Tochinoshin and Takayasu look like they are just hanging on to a downward slide based on their old size/strength-based tactics, my respect is up for Kotoshogiku seeming to reinvent himself. I can't remember the last time I saw him try to hump his opponent out of the ring, and he is somehow succeeding with a new straight-legged non-tachiai stance. And today's questionable match included, Mitakeumi has looked a lot more like an Ozeki this basho than Takakeisho.

I'm a day late and dollar short on this one, but my thought at the time was that Kakuryu was willing to do anything for the win, even potentially go face first into the cement floor, while Asanoyama flinched at the last moment and put his arm down. Losing the game of chicken could be the difference between yokozuna and ozeki!

Not at bad basho at all. Day 13 and 14 had some good matches, the Aoiyama "situation" worked itself out, and the finale between Hakuho and Kakuryu did not disappoint. Asanoyama was very close against both yokozunae and beat all of the other sanyaku, so promotion to ozeki seems justifiable. Overall, pretty decent.

Which broadcast and which day? If you mean the 17th, I did not hear it, but that would be one of the more interesting things that happened aside from Hakuho's loss... I like Aoiyama as an unlikely dark horse, but I don't know if I could handle another basho with a rank-and-filer racking up two weeks of beating lowly opponents and lucking out at the end while the top guys cancel out. Tokushoryu's results this time unfortunately speak for themselves. I have not been around long enough to understand the fine art of NSK scheduling, but why don't they start pairing off low-ranked contenders against sanyaku earlier?

Hakuho should have this one wrapped up. Aoiyama and Takanosho will start to face stiffer competition and/or each other, and won't be around in the last match of Day 15. Do I have it right then that it will probably end with a Hak vs. Kak show match, with Asanoyama maybe facing each one of them on Day 13 and 14, and probably Takakeisho on Day 12? He'll probably need to beat at least two out of those three to legitimize his Ozeki promotion, so that may be the interesting thing to watch down the stretch. As for today, Ishiura vs. Ikioi was the most exciting, though probably not "best" match, since it was a mad scramble around the dohyo. Enho made it interesting, but any match where his opponent can stay squared up and out of a hold will end up with Enho being bullied by their size. I also liked Nishikigi dismantling Shohozan after an obvious matta. The less said about Tochinoshin's match, the better.

With you on all of the above. Abi looked like he might make it interesting until his leg gave out. Kakuryu looked proper today too.

That was an understatement! Tochinoshin-Takarafuji was a good one today.

I was happy when Tochinoshin won though thought it was a little lucky (he never seemed to be able to consistently beat the top guys to deserve being Ozeki), but his decline has been ugly. It's felt like it has been straight down. There was a time when Takayasu used to flatten people with his shoulder charge and I thought it was only a matter of time until he'd win a basho, but now it's hard to imagine that ever happening. Amazing that Kotoshogiku looks like the best of bunch right now. Was a bit strange without the crowd at first, but Day 5 and 6 of the basho and the action has finally picked up. Kinda getting to like the the brutal slap of the meat and the shouting of the gyoji in the silence. Feel like if Mitakeumi doesn't pull off an upset today though, this one will be in the books...

Well there wasn't a playoff, but Shodai did his part to build up the tension, and every part of the ending was satisfying. I wasn't really pulling for either guy this tournament, figured it would be Takakeisho a few days ago. Nice to see Kaisei and Ikioi hang on from demotion, too bad for Ternofuji though I guess but his final match today didn't look so great. Also nice to see Kotoshogiku pull himself out of the fire and be back for another go around. Enjoyed Enho's look of "you got away with one there" to Kagayaki, like he doesn't beat half of his opponents with a matta. Continuing disappointment from Takayasu, Mitakeumi, and Tochinoshin (except for that match against Enho). Tochinoshin's win 2 years ago seems such a long way away now...I wonder how much longer he will be around. Nice ending to the basho, but overall it wasn't a great one.

Every basho will have some good matches. I guess I like to have a bit more of a theme to follow. A coherent chase for the lead, a leaderboard that makes sense, a winner that you feel has really risen to the top, etc. I think the problem for me is that new order isn't established yet, so it feels like we're watching much more of a "decline of the old guard" rather than a "rise of a new guard", and that's a bit depressing. Watching the older guys you like fade away is more depressing than exciting. If it ends in playoff drama today though, I'll gladly eat my words.

I think it's been pretty "meh". It feels like most of the top guys have been exposed and embarrassed these past two weeks, and the leader is an M17 who didn't face anyone "important" until Day 14. One of his wins includes someone from Juryo...someone check sumodb and remind me the last time that's happened... Kinda hard for me to be excited for what seems to be a pretty big mess of a basho.