Sven H.

If Wakatakakage returns in November, that would give him four more months of recovery. He will have fallen out of juryo by then, but that’s still only eight months post-surgery. Even that seems incredibly ambitious. The Google translation of the article says his return “within the year” is considered “delicate.” Not sure how it reads for real, as that sentence could mean a lot of things (calendar year, a year from the injury, etc.).

Thank you as always for these pics. Is there any update on Wakatakakage’s health?

This thread is tremendous as always. Any thoughts as to the priority for the open Sekiwake slot(s)?

I agree--missed it much. For example, it's fascinating to see Wakatakakage address the apparently growing "book" on him that his tendency to keep his feet level/even leaves him vulnerable to being pulled or slapped down.

Congratulations to komusubi-to-be Wakatakakage.

The most savage part about it is that because of their personal history, Wakatakakage's inability to beat him, etc., he almost surely knew Waktaktakakage wouldn't / couldn't henka him (because it would appear so blatantly desperate and dishonorable). Ruthless.

Thank you very much for this post, and your others.

Excellent. Thank you for the info.

Have they announced who is in contention for special prizes going into the final bouts? I recall in January we knew Akiseyama would receive one with a win, the September "no special prize for Wakatakakage" decision was known in advance, etc.

These posts are tremendous. Some of my favorite things to read not just about sumo, but in general. Question, is 11-4 (Wakatakakage) or 10-5 (WTK or Hokutofuji) enough to "force" another komusubi slot for an M2 regardless of what happens with current sanyaku? Or even at those records it is entirely dependent on what happens around them?

Yes, that's it. Thanks very much to you (and Prickly above). Had been driving me crazy.

I apologize for the thread hijack. A while back there was a report from a joint training session about a rikishi called out by Hakuho who essentially got worn out and said he'd had enough, and stopped training. It became a minor controversy for a bit. For whatever reason I just cannot find this report and identify the rikishi. Does anyone else recall who it was? My thanks in advance.