Yaocho by mobile scandal-

[Kintamayama 44,169]

All the punished rikishi will be sending in their retirement papers. The five Mongolians met with Hakuhou last night and decided to go quietly. Reports are saying that a veiled threat was made that any rikishi not retiring will cause their shisho to be punished even more, which had its influence on a lot of decisions. The only hold-out now is ex-Kaihou, but there still are a few hours to deadline. He has a lot of retirement money owed him (by far the biggest sum among the punished), but he chooses to give it all up to clear his name. MAN or idiot? Time will tell.

[Raishu 202]

Can anyone give an update on newly opened gaijin-slots?

Hanakago and Hakkaku still have foreign deshi left, but I think Michinoku has some free space now?

Overall six foreign born deshi are involved, but only two slots will become available after their intais.

Heyas with open slots:

Kasugayama and Michinoku

Heyas with further gaijin deshi:

Hakkaku (Hoshizakura)

Asahiyama (Hanasegawa and Oniarashi)

Hanakago (Arawashi and Shiroryu [JC*])

Tatsunami (Daionami [JC*] and Ryuonami)

*: Japanese Citizenship

Edited April 5, 2011 by Raishu

[Kintamayama 44,169]

"In the fourteen years I have done sumo, I have never done any yaocho. If I hand in my papers now, it will be an admission of guilt," said ex-Kaihou at a press conference today. As for his plans to sue or not- "I still have to sort out my feelings and think this over," he answered. He read from a prepared statement. "I don't know if I'm going to be banned now or not, but I cannot go against my true feelings and follow the 'retirement advice'... The Oyakata told me it was my life so I have to decide for myself, and for that I am deeply thankful to him."

Tearful Tanigawa :

Edited April 5, 2011 by Kintamayama

[Peterao 3]

"In the fourteen years I have done sumo, I have never done any yaocho. If I hand in my papers now, it will be an admission of guilt," said ex-Kaihou at a press conference today.

ex-Kaiho is a MAN. A MAN who cries, but a MAN nonetheless.

#winning!

[ryafuji 806]

Just came from the Kokugikan underground parking lot. Yamamotoyama, Sakaizawa and Shironoami have retired. All were in tears. None had any idea what they would do from now on, though Sakaizawa said he may work (or open) a restaurant.

On my way back I met Wakatenro. He has also decided to retire. Like the Onoe guys he has no idea what the future holds.

Seeing as how YMY had fought only one bout since last July and was plummeting down the banzuke, I don't think retirement would have been that far away even if he hadn't been found guilty.

[sumofan 6]

"In the fourteen years I have done sumo, I have never done any yaocho. If I hand in my papers now, it will be an admission of guilt," said ex-Kaihou at a press conference today.

ex-Kaiho is a MAN. A MAN who cries, but a MAN nonetheless.

#winning!

I rarely log in anymore these days, though I still follow the news here closely. I just feel I don't have much to add to the conversation :)

That said I agree here. If he indeed didn't do it, he deserves some respect for not going down without a fight.

[Peterao 3]

"In the fourteen years I have done sumo, I have never done any yaocho. If I hand in my papers now, it will be an admission of guilt," said ex-Kaihou at a press conference today.

ex-Kaiho is a MAN. A MAN who cries, but a MAN nonetheless.

#winning!

I rarely log in anymore these days, though I still follow the news here closely. I just feel I don't have much to add to the conversation :)

That said I agree here. If he indeed didn't do it, he deserves some respect for not going down without a fight.

My personal order of MANhood for this case, in order of decreasing MANliness:

1. Didn't do yaocho, is NOT going intai

slightly more MANly than

2. Did yaocho, is NOT going intai

MUCH more MANly than

3. Did yaocho, IS going intai

MUCH more MANly than

4. Didn't do yaocho, IS going intai

And the ultimate wuss:

5. IS going intai AND filing a lawsuit later.

[Kintamayama 44,169]

The "wrongfully" punished rikishi speak out:

Kirinowaka: "I have a lot I want to say, but if I don't tender my resignation, my oyakata may suffer further punishment.. I cannot bother him any further. I am very sad.."

Tokitsukaze Oyakata: "I do not accept this. We all are together in agreement".

Yamamotoyama: "I have not come to terms with what I am feeling. It's regrettable, but I have deep feelings of gratitude towards the Kyokai. If there were no Sumo Kyokai I'd just be another fatso. From today, even if people say I'm not a sumo-san anymore, I still don't understand why.."

Sakaizawa: "I didn't do it. Still, if I can't do any sumo on the dohyo, it has no significance. I'd like them to create an atmosphere where the rikishi can do sumo peacefully. I will keep swearing on my life that I did not do it .."

Wakatenrou: "I still haven't accepted it.. Still, there is the fact that I was taken care of for 19 years of my life by the Kyokai. I cannot accept the way it has ended!!"

Hakuba: "I'm sorry to have caused such an uproar. I hope that by retiring I will help the Kyokai make sumo better. If Sumo, Japan's culture, will be better, I would be glad to have sacrificed myself to that end.. I will leave as a person who loves Japan's culture!!"

Shirononami: "It's regrettable, but I have no choice but to move forward. I am speechless. I have been cared for by the Kyokai. I hope the rikishi who are left will gambarize."

Onoe Oyakata (three of his men were found guilty): "They are my kids who gambarized in sumo, so.. They are probably filled with anxiety right now. I would like to be as helpful to them as possible. There is no talk of litigation."

Edited April 5, 2011 by Kintamayama

[Kintamayama 44,169]

The Banzuke remains the same. May will be played out according to the Haru Banzuke, although 15 sekitori have retired. No hurried promotions from the Makushita ranks-everything will be done by merit. The rijikai is convened as we speak deciding other stuff (what kind of basho will be held if at all etc..) and we should be hearing from them shortly.

[Kintamayama 44,169]

He has a lot of retirement money owed him (by far the biggest sum among the punished), but he chooses to give it all up to clear his name. MAN or idiot? Time will tell.

This of course is total nonsense, you stupid person. He already received his 16,000,000 yen retirement pay and is owed next to nothing as he has served as an Oyakata for a short time. So, he has nothing to lose financially. Think before you write such idiotic, untrue things, you semi -fat person.

[Peterao 3]

The rijikai is convened as we speak deciding other stuff (what kind of basho will be held if at all etc..) and we should be hearing from them shortly.

And I assume we'll also be hearing from the Ministry, and eventually NHK.

The Banzuke remains the same. May will be played out according to the Haru Banzuke

What Haru banzuke??

Edited April 6, 2011 by Peterao

[Kintamayama 44,169]

The rijikai is convened as we speak deciding other stuff (what kind of basho will be held if at all etc..) and we should be hearing from them shortly.

And I assume we'll also be hearing from the Ministry, and eventually NHK.

The Banzuke remains the same. May will be played out according to the Haru Banzuke

What Haru banzuke??

The unbanzuke of course.

[Kintamayama 44,169]

It's going to be a "skill judging basho". meaning not a usual one. Open to the public for free, except for the controversial jiji-in seats. It will be held from May 8th-22nd at the KKan. The rest will follow.

[Peterao 3]

The Banzuke remains the same. May will be played out according to the Haru Banzuke

What Haru banzuke??

The unbanzuke of course.

Which only exists for the sekitori ranks.

[Peterao 3]

It's going to be a "skill judging basho". meaning not a usual one. Open to the public for free, except for the controversial jiji-in seats. It will be held from May 8th-22nd at the KKan. The rest will follow.

They've decided this without finishing the investigation, punishments, or preventative measures (not even starting on the latter. Let's see how well this bird flies...

[Peterao 3]

Also decided: kaiko for Tanigawa oyakata (Kaiho)

[nomadwolf 8]

The rijikai is convened as we speak deciding other stuff (what kind of basho will be held if at all etc..) and we should be hearing from them shortly.

And I assume we'll also be hearing from the Ministry, and eventually NHK.

The Banzuke remains the same. May will be played out according to the Haru Banzuke

What Haru banzuke??

The unbanzuke of course.

So GtB is on? :D

[Kintamayama 44,169]

No prizes to be given, no kensho, no outside prizes. A new Banzuke will be made after this tournament for July, depending on the rikishis' results in May. It will be called "The May Ability Judgement Basho". TV? "NHK's decision," says the rijicho. One of the reasons given for making it a free basho is that the torikumi will be shortened because of the low number of rikishi so it wouldn't be right to charge an entrance fee. The relapse prevention committee will convene tomorrow, fulfilling the "relapse prevention" part, one of the three subjects the rijicho spoke of - investigation, punishment and relapse prevention- as the criteria for holding the May basho.

Edited April 6, 2011 by Kintamayama

[ryafuji 806]

The Banzuke remains the same. May will be played out according to the Haru Banzuke

What Haru banzuke??

The unbanzuke of course.

Which only exists for the sekitori ranks.

No, it exists for all ranks. Only the sekitori ranks were released to the media.

[Asashosakari 18,649]

The unbanzuke of course.

Which only exists for the sekitori ranks.

No, it exists for all ranks. Only the sekitori ranks were released to the media.

And even that's only true for the official channels. Enough seems to be known to the press for Nikkan Sports to write that promoting the top 15 makushita immediately would have resulted in 8 sekitori debuts. (I'm counting 10 in my guess, so I'm looking forward to the release...)

[Asashosakari 18,649]

For kicks, here's what the "skill test" rankings will look like, barring further exits (e.g. Sokokurai and Hoshikaze for yaocho, or Shironoryu and Daido for their gambling indictments) and assuming they don't shift up the surviving rikishi to leave the holes completely at the bottom of each division:

Hakuho

[Peterao 3]

Comment from the Ministry: "With the investigation still ongoing, it's obvious that they cannot hold a regular basho, but the rikishi need to test the results of their keiko." So it seems that the basho that's not a basho but will be treated like a basho is good to go.

[Kintamayama 44,169]

Kaihou Kaiko Keiko Mako:

[Kintamayama 44,169]

The new Inspection committee has been broadened-it will now have 11 members instead of 7. Additionally, Nishonoseki and Dewanoumi will take over all of Kokonoe, Hakkaku and Michinoku's duties as riji. Nishonoseki is now director of Jungyos and head of the Inspection committee, while Dewanoumi is now head of the Osaka basho and head of the coordination planning committee.

On another note, the kyokai has decided to allow the dismissed rikishi to use the KKan for their danpatsushikis if they so wish.

Tokusegawa has returned to Mongolia, wearing a woolen hat and sunglasses. "I thank the Kyokai for taking care of me. I have no idea what I will do next. Yes, I am innocent," he said to reporters at the airport.

Edited April 6, 2011 by Kintamayama

[Kintamayama 44,169]

YDC Soken scheduled for April 29th is on. All records in the special basho will count. New deshi checkups-April 26th.