Day 3 results and day 4 pairings

[Doitsuyama 1,194]

The two yokozuna are the last remaining undefeated sanyaku after only three days as Kisenosato shoved Chiyotaikai to the ground, making it look easy. The seven remaining undefeated maegashira aren't looking like even remote yusho candidates (with the exception of Hokutoriki who has been in a yusho race rather long ago). Maybe Homasho or Tochiozan really have turned a corner and can run hot in low makuuchi but I'm pretty sure we'll see a yusho showdown between the two yokozuna on senshuraku.

Tochinoshin still is looking very strong with a powerful win over Hakuba and leading juryo at 3-0, along with Tosanoumi, Chiyohakuho and Kimurayama. Hoshihikari won against gimpy Hakurozan and is 2-1 now.

Day 3

Juryo

Ms1e   Bushuyama (2-0)	 yorikiri	   J14w   Sagatsukasa (1-2)
J14e   Kimurayama (3-0)	okuridashi	 J13w   Kirinowaka (0-3)
J13e   Katayama (2-1)	  hikiotoshi	 J12w   Tosayutaka (1-2)
J12e   Hokutokuni (1-2)	yorikiri	   J11w   Shunketsu (1-2)
J10w   Ushiomaru (2-1)	 oshidashi	  J11e   Kyokunankai (2-1)
J10e   Kitataiki (2-1)	 yorikiri	   J9w	Shimotori (1-2)
J9e	Masatsukasa (2-1)   oshidashi	  J8w	Kasuganishiki (2-1)
J8e	Shirononami (1-2)   okuridashi	 J7w	Toyozakura (0-3)
J6w	Hochiyama (1-2)	 oshidashi	  J7e	Tamawashi (2-1)
J6e	Chiyohakuho (3-0)   oshidashi	  J5w	Mokonami (1-2)
J5e	Tamanoshima (2-1)   oshidashi	  J4w	Kitazakura (1-2)
J4e	Tochinoshin (3-0)   yorikiri	   J3w	Hakuba (0-3)
J2w	Koryu (1-2)		 oshidashi	  J3e	Kotokasuga (1-2)
J1w	Hoshihikari (2-1)   yorikiri	   J2e	Hakurozan (1-2)

Makuuchi

J1e	Tosanoumi (3-0)	 hatakikomi	 M16w   Ryuo (0-3)
M16e   Otsukasa (3-0)	  hikiotoshi	 M15w   Sakaizawa (2-1)
M15e   Wakakirin (1-2)	 kubihineri	 M14w   Kakizoe (2-1)
M13e   Homasho (3-0)	   hatakikomi	 M12w   Yoshikaze (0-3)
M12e   Tochiozan (3-0)	 oshidashi	  M14e   Kaiho (0-3)
M10w   Tamakasuga (1-2)	hatakikomi	 M11e   Toyohibiki (0-3)
M11w   Takamisakari (3-0)  yorikiri	   M10e   Futeno (1-2)
M9e	Iwakiyama (2-1)	 yorikiri	   M8w	Tochinonada (0-3)
M9w	Kasugao (3-0)	   uwatenage	  M8e	Goeido (2-1)
M7e	Baruto (2-1)		yorikiri	   M6w	Dejima (0-3)
M7w	Hokutoriki (3-0)	oshidashi	  M6e	Roho (1-2)

M5w	Kokkai (3-0)		sukuinage	  M3w	Toyonoshima (0-3)
M5e	Wakanosato (1-2)	yorikiri	   M3e	Tokitenku (2-1)
M4w	Kyokutenho (2-1)	yorikiri	   S1w	Kotoshogiku (1-2)
M4e	Wakanoho (2-1)	  hikiotoshi	 S1e	Ama (1-2)
M1e	Asasekiryu (2-1)	uwatenage	  O1w	Kotomitsuki (0-3)
O1e	Kotooshu (2-1)	  hatakikomi	 M2w	Miyabiyama (0-3)
K1e	Kisenosato (2-1)	oshitaoshi	 O2w	Chiyotaikai (2-1)
O2e	Kaio (2-1)		  hatakikomi	 K1w	Takekaze (0-3)
Y1w	Asashoryu (3-0)	 yoritaoshi	 M2e	Aminishiki (1-2)
Y1e	Hakuho (3-0)		kirikaeshi	 M1w	Kakuryu (1-2)

Day 4

Juryo

J14e   Kimurayama (3-0)				   Ms1w   Satoyama (0-2)
J13e   Katayama (2-1)					 J14w   Sagatsukasa (1-2)
J11e   Kyokunankai (2-1)				  J12w   Tosayutaka (1-2)
J13w   Kirinowaka (0-3)				   J11w   Shunketsu (1-2)
J12e   Hokutokuni (1-2)				   J10w   Ushiomaru (2-1)
J8e	Shirononami (1-2)				  J9w	Shimotori (1-2)
J10e   Kitataiki (2-1)					J8w	Kasuganishiki (2-1)
J7e	Tamawashi (2-1)					J9e	Masatsukasa (2-1)
J7w	Toyozakura (0-3)				   J5w	Mokonami (1-2)
J6w	Hochiyama (1-2)					J4w	Kitazakura (1-2)
J6e	Chiyohakuho (3-0)				  J3w	Hakuba (0-3)
J2e	Hakurozan (1-2)					J5e	Tamanoshima (2-1)
J4e	Tochinoshin (3-0)				  J2w	Koryu (1-2)
J1e	Tosanoumi (3-0)					J3e	Kotokasuga (1-2)

Makuuchi

M16e   Otsukasa (3-0)					 J1w	Hoshihikari (2-1)
M16w   Ryuo (0-3)						 M14w   Kakizoe (2-1)
M12e   Tochiozan (3-0)					M15e   Wakakirin (1-2)
M15w   Sakaizawa (2-1)					M12w   Yoshikaze (0-3)
M11e   Toyohibiki (0-3)				   M13e   Homasho (3-0)
M14e   Kaiho (0-3)						M11w   Takamisakari (3-0)
M10e   Futeno (1-2)					   M9w	Kasugao (3-0)
M10w   Tamakasuga (1-2)				   M8w	Tochinonada (0-3)
M7e	Baruto (2-1)					   M9e	Iwakiyama (2-1)
M8e	Goeido (2-1)					   M7w	Hokutoriki (3-0)
M6w	Dejima (0-3)					   M5w	Kokkai (3-0)

M4e	Wakanoho (2-1)					 M6e	Roho (1-2)
M5e	Wakanosato (1-2)				   M4w	Kyokutenho (2-1)
M1e	Asasekiryu (2-1)				   M3e	Tokitenku (2-1)
S1e	Ama (1-2)						  K1w	Takekaze (0-3)
O2e	Kaio (2-1)						 K1e	Kisenosato (2-1)
M3w	Toyonoshima (0-3)				  O1w	Kotomitsuki (0-3)
O1e	Kotooshu (2-1)					 M1w	Kakuryu (1-2)
S1w	Kotoshogiku (1-2)				  O2w	Chiyotaikai (2-1)
Y1e	Hakuho (3-0)					   M2e	Aminishiki (1-2)
M2w	Miyabiyama (0-3)				   Y1w	Asashoryu (3-0)

[Asojima 2,874]

Kokkai may be feeling pressure from his Georgian compatriot, Tochinoshin. He seems to again be reverting to the quality sumo that got him to Makuuchi. He has looked good so far.

[messi19 0]

It is virtually impossible for Kotooshu to lose to Miyabiyama these days. He must love this match-up. The elegant mountain's tsuppari have no effect whatsoever on him, in fact Kotooshu is more likely to oshi-dashi him than the other way around and the other way Miyabiyama knows to win which is setting up a pull-down by getting his opponent off-balance or stumbling is not going to work either, because his tsuppari just have no impact of that sort on Kotooshu.

I guess Kotooshu could still make Yokozuna if he could convince the Kyokai to fight Miyabiyama every single day. (Sign of approval...)

Edited March 11, 2008 by messi19

[Harry 67]

Not the best day of sumo with a lot of slap downs, even though some ended up being slight variations in the kimarite so not all show up as hatakikomis. Not a lot of skilled deashi was shown tonight as many were putting themselves into bad forward positions ripe for hatakikomi and hikiotoshi. Several would have been tsukite's if not for a little help with a back pat from their aite to avoid a non-technique win.

I was bleary eyed barely waking up in time (no alarm as usual) at 3:15am this morning though I saw the first few matches again better during the halftime break's replays.

A round of happy birthday from the announcers (otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu, otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu!) was not much help for Ryuo who is 25 years old today but he received no present from Tousanomi. Tousanomi started things off, coming out very strong to show he belongs in makuuchi. At 0-3 Ryuo is looking like he'll be in juryo next time.

Otsukasa is 3-0 with the slap-down hikiotoshi.

Kakizoe's strong forward sumo was not rewarded when Wakakirin managed a neck twist on him which was mostly Kakizoe's own momentum taking himself down and out to fall to 2-1 while Wakakirin now has one in the win column.

Homasho had a sloppy win over Yoshikaze with the slap down but almost fell down himself several times in the match so his 3-0 unbeaten record now doesn't look as strong as yesterday. I hope he returns to form tomorrow which should be easy against Toyohibiki at 0-3.

Tochiozan continues his strong all win performance over my continued hapless pick of Kaiho and will likely go 4-0 over Wakakirin on day 4.

Tamakasuga continued the slap-down fest.

Takamisakari continued his parade of envelopes with a win over the poor efforts of Futeno with a nice forward moving attack ending in yorikiri and much applause. With a match tomorrow against Kaiho he looks like a good pick to go to 4-0.

Iwakiyama also had a strong yorikiri to improve to 2-1 and looks like the next one will be easy against Tochinonada.

Kusugao had an excellent tachiai and a great grip which proved to be the difference in derailing the Goeido train with a nice uwatenage throw to collect the envelopes from the other banner announced maegashira. Futeno will likely be easy pickings for Kusugao next day.

Baruto is now at 2-1 with an easy win over Dejima who seems like he doesn't want to be here. A bit more of a test perhaps against Iwakiyama tomorrow.

Hokutoriki won over the powerless Roho to go to 3-0 but this was a very easy one. Should be a good fight tomorrow with Goeido.

Toyonoshima put up much more of a fight than I'd expected with Kokkai but the latter ended up with the nice sukuinage win in the end after some encouragement from the gyoji to keep up the action. Kokkai faces the winless Dejima tomorrow for an almost guaranteed win.

Wakanosato looked better than his 1-2 shohai with a yorikiri win over Tokitenku.

Kotoshogiku looks hurt with his loss to Kyohutenho with a big grimace on his face as he was forced out of the dohyo. I'm worried about his right knee and he could prove to be an easier opponent for Chiyotaikai tomorrow than I'd imagined at first.

Wakanoho looked strong beating Ama who hit the dohyo hard with his right shoulder and was wincing in pain as he walked down the hanamichi. Wakanoho should walk over Roho tomorrow while Ama should be able to get back to .500 against Takekaze tomorrow though you never know with that shoulder.

As I predicted yesterday, Asasekiryu put Kotomitsuki down to 0-3. He finished with a good uwatenage. Tomorrow against 0-3 Toyonoshima, Kotomitsuki should get a win while Asasekiryu should be in a good match with Tokitenku.

Miyabiyama showed good forward movement and strength but then forced the Ozeki to hatakikomi him so he wouldn't just tsukite himself.

Chiyotaikai again came out of the tachiai very strong, nice harites pushed Kisenosato to the edge of the ring but then inexplicably he backed up and pulled Kisenosato's neck down but wasn't strong enough, lost his footing and ended up in a silly oshitaoshi inside the ring! He was upset with himself and so am I because while I expected him to lose this match he actually came out strong and with more forward effort I believe he could have oshidashi'd Kisenosato out of the ring. Instead they're both 2-1 and I hope this isn't a turning point for the worse for Taikai.

Kaio helped Takekaze avoid tsukite with a hatakikomi 'win' by lightly patting him on the back as he fell down, falling to 0-3 in the process.

Aminishiki's recent wins over Asashoryu were shown before their match and he tried but Asashoryu sent him crashing out of the dohyo where he could barely climb back up for his bow. Miyabiyama should be a walk in the park for Asa on day 4.

The birthday wishes continued with another round of otanjoubi omedetou gozaimuas from the announcers for Hakuhou who is 23 today! He did get his present in a fairly easy win over a game Kakuryu who let him finish the match with flair with a kirikaeshi. Kakuryu meets Kotooshu tomorrow while Hakuhou will see Aminishiki for what should be a win.

I missed the dohyo-iri and they didn't show the yumitorishiki (Bow ceremony) either so not the best day. I could have slept through this one. Here's hoping tomorrow is less sloppy.

[ilovesumo 12]

Makuuchi

M16e Otsukasa (3-0) versus J1w Hoshihikari (2-1)

Oh he will be nervous...but not because it's Otsukasa he has to fight...

Makuuchi feeling is pretty different from Juryo...first Makuuchi bout is the time many latecomers and now lighter people (sake makes you run (Sign of approval...) ) rush in .

Nervous atmosphere....wishing him nerves of steel....thank god it's not the bout Takamisakari walks in...

[Kotoku 0]

Nice summary Harry! I am back in Sacramento and cannot watch the matches. Thanks for ther great descriptions! :- )

[Bealzbob 0]

Aminishiki looked very sore after tumbling out with Asashoryu. I hope he's OK for the remainder of the tourney.

Nice write-up Harry although I slightly disagree with how easy Baruto's win was. For me, once again, Baruto did not look agile at all. If he gets someone who can twist and turn on him then I think he's a sitting duck. For me it looks like he can only go back and forward in this basho and even the little direction changes that Dejima used caused Baruto a disproportionate amount of difficulty (IMHO of course (Sign of approval...))

[Kaikitsune Makoto 209]

My views:

Wakanoho's monkey arms are an anomaly. Odd bout, odd man.

Chiyotaikai was brilliant with his tactics causing matta and then disarming Kise's tachi-ai totally by perfectly stalling and then even managing one of the best tachi-ais in a long time hitting very late Kise with full force; the follow up was very well timed too: Only reason he didn't win was Kise's defensive power and solid hip power. Taikai did everything pretty much right but lost.

Kakuryu has self confidence peak. Everything works like a dream. Grip changes, footwork and so. He was very good against Hakuho all the way.

O3 looks healthy but has had weak foes. Toyohibiki looks like he is going 2-13 like at keiko.

Goeido vs Kasugao was beautiful. Aiyotsu between two very good migiyotsu specialists. Nobody in sumo wants to go chest to chest in migiyotsu against Kasugao as his power is immense. He has been throwing Shoryu and Hakuho around with airborne uwatenage and he certainly looks super genki now with 3 strong throwing wins. Goeido lost his left hand outside grip and didn't have much chance to counter the inevitable uwatenage then. Kasugao looks awesome. if only he could force bouts more to his own sumo and he could challenge all every day.

I don't know if Kotomitsuki has some physical handicap but I am sure he has mental stiffness now and just thinks too much of winning. Today it was like a classic too much tension-loss. Sekihiryu didn't have to do much.

Kaiho looks quite weak.

[Bealzbob 0]

How did Tosayutaka look in his bout? It's the 1 bout missing from info-sumo.

[Mark Buckton 1]

My views:

Wakanoho's monkey arms are an anomaly. Odd bout, odd man.

watch it again - watch his right hand on slo mo if you can. At first glance, untidy, but a couple of times and I was pretty impressed by that left / right combination.

[HenryK 38]

Aminishiki looked very sore after tumbling out with Asashoryu. I hope he's OK for the remainder of the tourney.

This was a brutal throw. Asashoryu put all his weight on Aminishiki's neck till Aminishiki gave in and flip-flopped out of the ring, with Asashoryu landing on top of him.

I reckon Asashoryu could have had that easier -- he was about to push Aminiski out of the dohyo anyway.

[Harry 67]

Aminishiki looked very sore after tumbling out with Asashoryu. I hope he's OK for the remainder of the tourney.

Nice write-up Harry although I slightly disagree with how easy Baruto's win was. For me, once again, Baruto did not look agile at all. If he gets someone who can twist and turn on him then I think he's a sitting duck. For me it looks like he can only go back and forward in this basho and even the little direction changes that Dejima used caused Baruto a disproportionate amount of difficulty (IMHO of course (Sign of approval...))

I'm not saying Baruto looks good, quite to the contrary I'm just saying that Dejima looks absolutely terrible, unable to stop anything, even just Baruto's forward movement. So Dejima made Baruto look kind of good by comparison but any agile rikishi can probably just walk behind him and push him out. As I said, it looks like Dejima doesn't even want to be there.

[Edit: why did I write Roho instead of Dejima? Roho was yesterday but after a few days of 3am sumo I'm a little bit tired...]

Edited March 11, 2008 by Harry

[Bealzbob 0]

That's Dejima, not Roho, but I agree with you.

[HenryK 38]

Aminishiki looked very sore after tumbling out with Asashoryu. I hope he's OK for the remainder of the tourney.

Nice write-up Harry although I slightly disagree with how easy Baruto's win was. For me, once again, Baruto did not look agile at all. If he gets someone who can twist and turn on him then I think he's a sitting duck. For me it looks like he can only go back and forward in this basho and even the little direction changes that Dejima used caused Baruto a disproportionate amount of difficulty (IMHO of course (Sign of approval...))

I'm not saying Baruto looks good, quite to the contrary I'm just saying that Roho looks absolutely terrible, unable to stop anything, even just Baruto's forward movement.

Few rikishi can stop Baruto's forward movement once he has them solidly pinned to his chest. Baruto is still incredibly strong, I'm not sure whether even Hakuho matches him in this department. But what he badly lacks is agility.

In my expectation, Roho vs. Wakanoho isn't a done deal at all. But we'll see.

[Harry 67]

Aminishiki looked very sore after tumbling out with Asashoryu. I hope he's OK for the remainder of the tourney.

This was a brutal throw. Asashoryu put all his weight on Aminishiki's neck till Aminishiki gave in and flip-flopped out of the ring, with Asashoryu landing on top of him.

I reckon Asashoryu could have had that easier -- he was about to push Aminiski out of the dohyo anyway.

He replied about the previous day's match where something similar occured and said Kakuryu was still fighting to stay in the dohyo so he had to fight to push him out. I expected he'd say something similar about today's match as it really was brutal with Amini doing a sommersault on the floor outside the ring but so far all I've seen reported as being said by Asa is いい相撲になっている, ii sumo ni natte iru, becoming good sumo.

Edited March 11, 2008 by Harry

[Bealzbob 0]

My take on Asa's throw was that Aminishiki was trying to stay in the ring despite being in a hopeless position. If he had accepted the defeat earlier (and let's face it he WAS beaten well before he tumbled) then Asa wouldn't have had to chuck him out. Asa can't really be blamed (although no doubt he will be) whereas Aminishiki set up his own fall (literally).

[Harry 67]

Nice summary Harry! I am back in Sacramento and cannot watch the matches. Thanks for ther great descriptions! :- )

I'm glad you've found them useful but I'm surprised you can't see them in Sacramento. Isn't TVJapan available in your area? TVJapan is essentially NHK and I pay for it here to watch it on digital cable.

http://www.tvjapan.net/en/watching/index.html

They show makuuchi ozumo and some smaller tournaments with Japanese and English (Secondary Audio Program).

Looks like Comcast carry it in your area:

http://www.tvjapan.net/en/watching/cabletv...&cable_ip=C

Looks like DISH and IPTV are in Sacramento too at similar (almost exactly the same) prices.

I agree it is pricey but its cheaper than plane and basho tickets ;) Though not quite as good :(

Edited March 11, 2008 by Harry

[Asashosakari 19,726]

How did Tosayutaka look in his bout? It's the 1 bout missing from info-sumo.

Special service...see for yourself. (Scratching chin...)

[Bealzbob 0]

Thanks !! But ... oh dear (Scratching chin...)

[Asashosakari 19,726]

Toyohibiki looks like he is going 2-13 like at keiko.

Like a poor man's Dejima without any plan B (i.e. unlike Dejima's strong sukuinage in his best days)... I'm not even sure if he's harboring an injury like most struggling rikishi would, it just looks like everybody has figured him out since approximately Kyushu and he's completely unable to adapt.

[Taka 33]

Hard to remember a slower less energetic bout than that Toyohibiki-Tamakasuga one.

Edited March 11, 2008 by Taka

[Harry 67]

Hard to remember a slower less energetic bout than that Toyohibiki-Tamakasuga one.

I hesitated for a moment to decide whether to write anything about it but included a short sentence for completeness... Tamakasuga (1-2) vs. Tochinonada (0-3) promises to be about as good today which is too bad as those two used to get a bunch of kinboshi. They used to be dangerous even if they never got a makuuchi yusho. Time marches on, yes, but I hope there is still some fire left.

Edited March 11, 2008 by Harry

[Tetsuonoumi 0]

Aminishiki looked very sore after tumbling out with Asashoryu. I hope he's OK for the remainder of the tourney.

This was a brutal throw. Asashoryu put all his weight on Aminishiki's neck till Aminishiki gave in and flip-flopped out of the ring, with Asashoryu landing on top of him.

I reckon Asashoryu could have had that easier -- he was about to push Aminiski out of the dohyo anyway.

He replied about the previous day's match where something similar occured and said Kakuryu was still fighting to stay in the dohyo so he had to fight to push him out. I expected he'd say something similar about today's match as it really was brutal with Amini doing a sommersault on the floor outside the ring but so far all I've seen reported as being said by Asa is いい相撲になっている, ii sumo ni natte iru, becoming good sumo.

Yea, WOW, the last two Asashoryu fights ended nasty. Day two was completely unsportsmanlike. Day three was freakin' scary and also unnecessary. And I'm an Asashoryu fan. But wow, he really is a powderkeg. He's gonna take over Takamisakari's role as chief whack job.

[HenryK 38]

Aminishiki looked very sore after tumbling out with Asashoryu. I hope he's OK for the remainder of the tourney.

This was a brutal throw. Asashoryu put all his weight on Aminishiki's neck till Aminishiki gave in and flip-flopped out of the ring, with Asashoryu landing on top of him.

I reckon Asashoryu could have had that easier -- he was about to push Aminiski out of the dohyo anyway.

He replied about the previous day's match where something similar occured and said Kakuryu was still fighting to stay in the dohyo so he had to fight to push him out. I expected he'd say something similar about today's match as it really was brutal with Amini doing a sommersault on the floor outside the ring but so far all I've seen reported as being said by Asa is いい相撲になっている, ii sumo ni natte iru, becoming good sumo.

Yea, WOW, the last two Asashoryu fights ended nasty. Day two was completely unsportsmanlike. Day three was freakin' scary and also unnecessary. And I'm an Asashoryu fan. But wow, he really is a powderkeg. He's gonna take over Takamisakari's role as chief whack job.

I agree, even though I found this one worse than the day before -- the Aminishiki throw looked really dangerous. Well we know that Asashoryu has this super-competitive edge that makes him go especially hard after opponents who have annoyed him in the past (Aminishiki, Kisenosato) and intimidate folks he fights for the first time. Hopefully we don't see more of this.