Kotoku

Kintamayama-san, I was quoting from Beevis, of Beevis and Butthead, the much lamented cartoon program from the 90s... Life hasn't been the same since they retired the show...

Wow... just got online. Baruto wahsed up? A baby? Puleeze... -L- What I deeply disliked about the Oshu match was the ozeki did not let go, and seemed to purposely land on the big lug. That was dirty. Baruto is gonna be great, he's so raw, and yet wins with brute power. I thought he was gonna lose two matches, I was wrong. But I have no doubt he'll get a decent kachikoshi, and might even be sanyakku next basho... max! Tq

Uuuuu huuuh uuuuu huuuh he said butthead huuh huuh huuuh...

Sorry, but a good buddy -- we both play Cajun accordion -- lives in Italy. He tells me pro soccer in that country is awful -- and these are the crooks you sent to the Cup. I think Italy is a disgracefully dirty team. I'm so sorry that you won, and if it was an American football player instead of Zidane that had that stuff said to his face, I promise you it would have been a lot worse than a headbutt. Get Tony Soprano on his pitiful ass... -L-

I admire Zidane for what he did. The Italian fell like a pussy... Penalty kick shootout for the championship of the world? Sorry guys, but that sucks, almost as much as the dives those pansies take. I do my best to love this game, but the cheap shots, holding, foul play and the fucking play-acting is just too much. Makes henka look honorable, and most of the players on the Italian squad came from teams that fix matches in Italy. I'll stick with Sumo, K-1, boxing and American football...

The guy is great. I love watching him, because his sumo is so relaxed and natural. You would think he was born in Aomori or something. I think he will be 13-2, losing by surprise to a lower ranker via henka somewhere, aqnd a loss to the yokozuna. He also has the absolute best smile coming down the hanamichi...

Size was never a problem for Kokonoe-oyakata. Asa and Chiyo had the same idea at tachiai -- mai mawashi. For Chiyo, it was always hidari mai, and once he had it, he almost never lost. Asa moves from mai mawashi to two hands in, and sets up for any number of hineri, nage, yer-kimarite-here wins. I love his style off and on the dohyo. He is the best Yokozuna since Chiyo, hands down. Baruto is great - I am a huge fan, but European rikishi have absolutely know idea about the circumspect approach to this thing. I don't really enjoy watching any of them, although I am really hoping Baruto gets a grip on what sumo is deeply about, in addition to that great smile of his. Bushido with a wink and a nudge...

Stomped the guy right on the nuts! And he did it on purpose. Yeah England, the class act of football. Now if all of the Enlglish "fans" go home, we can watch a proper WC, without holligans on the field and in the streets. And no more tit shots of whats-his-name's wife in the stands. Germany will beat France 2-zip...

PRO: The game itself! I love this kind of football, and this is from an American. It is wonderful to watch Portugal, brazil, Germany and Argentina play. The fans, the mix of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and whatever world in one big colorful aswirl in the stands. CONS: Japanese football, period. The stupid haircuts, the diving, the lack of kintamas at the goal. And Kaswabuchi is still the prez of the federation, despite four years of Zico. And having to go back to the baffoonery of what is called J-League.

The Hakuho/Baruto match was classic spiritless sumo, and while I understand and accept that, I wish it didn't have to happen...

His problem is that whoever is his media guy has put him into too much promotion, taking away time to practice. His second problem is that he is physically all wrong for sumo -- to tall and too leggy. I love the guy -- he's great! But I think if he wants to avoid the kind of injury that would stay with him forever, he might switch carreers. He's done amazingly well in Sumo. He's handsome, has what seems to be a great personality and could probably make a ton of money either here or in Europe in the movies or as a tarento... YMMV and no problem.

Guy's on fire last six days... He has the best stink eye in the big show. Always looks pissed off like a junior-high school math teacher.

Onokuni was a pretty good rikishi until he got injured. Problem is that once you make it to the top, you can never slack off -- unless you are Takanohana, in which case, you can watch as much teevee as you want, and still come back a few basho later...

Guy used to be hell on the deshi when he first came up. Comes from a really rich family. I always think of a guy in overalls from Alabama when he comes up on the dohyo -- don't ask why... -L-

Yeah, send him to Kaiser... My pain-in-the-ass doctor brother in Florida says that Japanese medicine is better until you get to the most advanced stuff, like cutting-edge -- no pun here -- heart and brain surgery, genetic stuff, etc. After going to the hospital in Sacramento -- UC Davis -- I agree. I'll take Kyorin any day... ymmv.

I didn't see how he hurt himself in the replays.. Elbows are funny things though -- if he kept his arm stiff as he landed, especially to avoid falling on the judge, he might have jammed it. I usully eat dinner at a tiny izakaiya in Kichijoji that is run by the retired sukebito of one of the high-ranking guys in the associaton. His former boss was also there last night, and talk was that the yokozuna will be limited in technique the rest of the basho, if he stays in.

Andy is a very interesting man, well into his 80s. He has always been a crusty guy, with a lot of history in Japan. I remember when he, Clyde and I went to the funural of Jerry Toff in Nagoya. As we rode the Shinkansen, he related a lot of stories about Sumo and other topics since WW II. Jerry was one of the real bright lights of the early English-broadcast Sumo shows. He was by far the best guest and a great guy. He died so quickly and unexpectedly. Certainly one of the larger-than-life gaijins I knew in Japan... I wouldn't be too hard on andy. Whatever mistakes he might have made in his writing should be offset by his even doing the work. Tq

I think Tochiazuma has an excellent chance to win the next yusho. Asashoryu's injury is not gonna heal in six weeks -- those mishaps can become long-term chronic problems. Tochiazuma's sumo has always been direct and forward moving, but he has weak joints and bones, not weak technique or fighting spirit. He has been a favorite of mine since he was a kid. I wish him the best...

You said it perfectly. Lack of respect...

Funny, I deeply dislike the guy's whole act. His shrugs and grimaces when he loses, his puffed out chest when he wins, his over-the-top niramiai -- and please excuse the romanji speling -- he really epitomizes to my eyes all that is wrong in sumo done by white guys. The sheer arrogance of his behavior after he gets his clock cleaned by the yokozuna, as if somehow he had been cheated, just doesn't sit well with me. I would dearly love to watch the Yokozuna just beat the snot out of him at asa geikko some morning. I know already that is gonna piss some of you off, but YMMV and no problem. To my eyes, with the wonderful exception of Kotooshu, all of the European rikishi have lousy attitudes, compared with their Asian counterparts, and their sumo isn't much better. Tachiai... It has only been since the early 90s that the koenkai has made such a stink about two-hands down. Watch some matches from the Showa-jidai. The vast majority of times, the rikishi didn't even bend down, they just went at it. This saved a lot of head banging and basically eliminated yer-favorite-kimarite henka. It is just about impossible to henka from a semi-standing position. Hokutoriki -- ah yes -- the same as Chiyotaikai slavishly mimics his oyakata's every move during the shikiri and after he wins, Hokutoriki brings his mentor's attitude to the dohyo. He comes off as arrogant, but so did his boss. I like him because he speaks tochigi-ben and has that supreme confidence so favored by rikishi from the north.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html Here's the Site address...

Here's a wonderful site if you are at all interested in astronomy. They have a new picture every day, with the requisite explanations... This is a beautiful shot of Orion, but to my eyes it looks like Maenoumi hustling out Konishiki by okuridashi... ya gotta squint...

The main reason behind remilitarization is that big business wants to get even more tax money for "defense" spending. Japan has prospered greatly by not having to pay the cost of a huge military on the ground. Personally, I think Japan would most benefit by emulating the Swiss. Not the chocolate part, the neutral-at-all-costs stance that would keep the crazies who populate the black trucks out in the boonies where they belong. I despise the American military presence. But there is a purpose here that is more beneficial to Japan than it is a burden. As far as the Security Council seat, that is all about jiminto old-fart ego more than anything else. I think Japan would be best served by keeping a low profile and playing "hard to get," when it comes to the militarization of its foreign policy. Besides, I see very few situations on this planet that are worth one drop of Japanese blood.

Got it! But how come they penalize a team the whole game for an infraction by one player? Seems like if the other team scores against the undermanned team, the team at the obvious disadvantage should be allowed to return to full strength...

I root for Chelsea when I'm in Tokyo -- I get lots of free beer from my Brit friends, or I did until the American guy bought the team... how about Doncaster? :- ) Tq