Hatsu 2015 Comments

[Ayagawa 14]

The return of the OBSC...?

at least not for Goeido.

if there were such a club, why didn't Kisenosato do him the favor yesterday? :-/

[krindel 684]

The return of the OBSC...?

at least not for Goeido.

if there were such a club, why didn't Kisenosato do him the favor yesterday? :-/

I think that no matter what anyone believes about Kisenosato's abilities, he's not a guy who's generally known to be into giving (or receiving) favors...

[Tsubame 368]

The return of the OBSC...?

at least not for Goeido.

if there were such a club, why didn't Kisenosato do him the favor yesterday? :-/

Because Kise want to join the more elitist YBSC, if you know what I mean. ;-)

Edited January 19, 2015 by Tsubame

[Morty 1,517]

Kise, for all his brain fades, has always been gachinko. During the Yaocho scandal he was one of the ones known to not play ball because he always went out there to win and refused to be involved in fixed matches. I don't reckon he has ever done a favour for a fellow Ozeki

[Jakusotsu 6,184]

One could argue that's what took him so long to reach Ozeki...

[Kotogouryuu 137]

Guess this is what happens when your Ozeki run is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Only way Goeido saves his rank is if he reasserts his recent "dominance" over Hakuho. Just hoping this charade comes to an end soon. Glad the Geeku is back was thinking injuries would push him to retire soon.

I was quite sure Kotoshogiku's injuries had piled up and he would be the one in trouble. I'm glad he's better, it can be a while before we get more Ozeki candidates.

[lackmaker 446]

Am I correct in assuming that today's result kills any chance of Aioyama being on an Ozeki run at the moment?

I'm assuming he struggles to maintain his rank,although avoiding both the Tochis should help.

[Asashosakari 19,933]

Let me be the first to congratulate Goeido on his 10-5 Haru basho record clinching immediate repromotion...

[Tenshinhan 1,612]

Ozeki run? Mathematically yes, with an 8-7 and a maximum of 9-6 he will indeed need 16 next basho to make it to 33...

But you know, some guys only need 32 wins... :-D

[Gurowake 4,123]

Certainly if Aoiyama had two straight KKs at Sekiwake followed by a zensho-yusho it might be a reasonable consideration to promote him, but that's pretty wishful thinking. Today he looked really bad, going for a yorikiri win against Terunofuji instead of relying on his pushing attack. When I saw him try to win that way, I immediately thought he was going to lose and was totally unsurprised by how the bout went from there.

[Adil 232]

I'll echo what some of the others have said about Kotoshogiku: Am really happy that he's back. The thought of him retiring any time soon is not a pleasant one. His explosive tachi-ai and kangaroo hops are great to watch. Remember how he was being thrown about like a rag doll last basho? I don't think it was because he was losing badly. It's just a guess, of course, but I think once he knew he was going to lose, he was more concerned about breaking his fall and aggravating his injuries. Kyokutenho steps out without a struggle once he knows he's toast. Kotoshogiku was using the same concept; that's why some of his falls looked more dramatic with him rolling off the dohyo.

Damn, I was so happy for Kotoshogiku's victory that I forgot it came at Kisenosato's expense. I would have liked for him to stay neck to neck with the leaders.

[ryafuji 823]

Thought Tochinoshin was very unlucky not to get a mono-ii there. And Aminishiki was robbed of a kinboshi.

Or I need glasses.

His arm appeared to break the plane of the dohyo just before Endo crashed down on his own arm and scuffed up the side of the dohyo with face. And Aminishiki was lucky to get a torinaoshi, as his foot appeared to land a split second ahead of Kakuryu, who managed to tuck his arm in the nick of time and delay touchdown by rolling in midair.

Lol! So I need glasses then!

Yeah, I thought Endo had a case...not sure if this 'breaking the plane' rule is actually followed by the judges, actually (anyone?) but his hand went down so I thought at least they should go again.

And as for Aminishiki, from what I saw, Kakuryu hit the ground first...but as I said, I may well be completely wrong.

Any other offers?

I thought Aminishiki went out well before Kakuryu hit and he was lucky to get a replay. I agree though that it looked like Endo touched down first. Maybe Tochinoshin was shini-tai?

[rzombie1988 159]

Ichinojo totally blew it against Hakuho today. He had him in prime position near the edge and instead he went to a stall with him. Such a dumb call. He was lower then him too and could have pushed Hak back a few more inches before rushing him. Ich is one guy I can never figure out tactically, as his stall just hurts him.

Kisen's knee twist looked rough, but he also wasn't very good tactically today. He could have tripped and belly flopped Koto so easy when Koto kept continuing to push. Koto's the most predictable rikishi, so I don't understand why people have so many problems with him.

I predicted Shohozan over Osuna. Osuna stood straight up and Sho used his small stature to win.

Aminishiki got a get out of jail free card today. His back foot was out first and he got away with it. Doesn't hurt to have one of his trainers as a judge.

Sorry, but Aoiyama ain't going to be an Ozeki anytime soon. I don't know why the heavier guys always seem to have balance issues. If he can't win by pushing/slapping you straight, he's not going to win.

Hak's got this one in the bag. Harumafuji's style is always going to put him in danger of losing, while Hakuho keeps control.

PS - Gagamaru is 8-1 at J2. Wish we had video of that. Would love to know what he is doing differently. He's glueing himself to the dohyo, right?

Edited January 19, 2015 by rzombie1988

[808morgan 814]

So that was pretty interesting

[bettega 433]

Ama has something a little more savage, less controlled than the other rikishi. I like that. A little

And I feel sorry for Kaisei. He didn't deserved the rough treatment.

[Masumasumasu 902]

[rzombie1988 159]

So that was pretty interesting

"Control the head, control the body."

[Gurowake 4,123]

Ichinojo totally blew it against Hakuho today. He had him in prime position near the edge and instead he went to a stall with him. Such a dumb call. He was lower then him too and could have pushed Hak back a few more inches before rushing him. Ich is one guy I can never figure out tactically, as his stall just hurts him.

Well, the thing about Ichinojo that everyone commented on upon first seeing him fight in his first few basho was his utter patience. That's what people are attacking now that they know they have to fight him. While Endo seemed like a huge upset at the time to me based solely on strength ratings, upon further recollection Endo probably is the favorite in their matches because Ichinojo is exactly the kind of guy that Endo beat regularly to get where he is, just bigger. Ichinojo is really only impressive because he's hard to move and doesn't fall easily; he hasn't really shown much, to my non-expert eyes, of much more that would lead him into further glory. He needs a lot more time to develop his instincts against the top flight competition before he can beat them with any regularity. I won't be surprised if he continues to get KKs, but he just doesn't seem to have the skills right now to make a push for Ozeki. However, he is quite young and still has a lot of time to develop. He definitely seems like he carefully considers the situations he faces, so I hope that he's learning in the process.

[Gurowake 4,123]

How about Kagayaki being the first one to beat Kitataiki? The former Tatsu and fellow youngster Daieisho are both 7-2 behind former Makuuchi regulars Gagamaru and Kitataiki at 8-1 on the Juryo leaderboard.

[Gernobono 467]

nice incident(?) at the mono-ii for takagi-hakuyozan

the nishi-shimpan had troubles to get into his sandals.....then he slowly gets on the doyo just to turn around on his heels when he arrives at the circle because the shortish discussion was over at this point :-)

[Adil 232]

Ama has something a little more savage, less controlled than the other rikishi. I like that. A little

And I feel sorry for Kaisei. He didn't deserved the rough treatment.

I don't understand what you mean by Kaisei not deserving rough treatment. This was Harumafuji's favorite choke-hold that he uses all the time. Kaisei didn't have an answer for it and just fell.

I agree 100% with you that Harumafuji is a bit of a wild one. And yes, I, too like it most of the time. When I say most of the time, I mean when he is wild DURING the match. I don't like the fact that sometimes he doesn't restrain himself when the match is almost won. I would have preferred the same level of restraint that other rikishi exhibit when victory is 120% (apologies to math enthusiasts) in the bag. I don't mean that he should pull back and allow his opponent to make a counter-attack. I just mean he should show a little "OK buster, I've kicked your butt but I don't want to injure you" attitude, which, to his credit, he does exhibit most of the time.

On another note, how about Toyohibiki? The guy is incredibly strong and can push most guys back, but keeps losing matches after pushing his opponents to the edge. He's a one trick pony. I don't know any other rikishi in the top flight who fights like him. He is neither a belt guy nor a tsuppari guy; he puts his hands on his opponent's chest squarely and tries to push them back. The problem is, since he has no belt grip, it is very easy to knock him off balance with a shove to his arms or just making a sudden lateral move. I guess that's why he becomes a little tentative after pushing his opponents to the edge.

[Raishu 208]

On another note, how about Toyohibiki?

I don't know any other rikishi in the top flight who fights like him.

The current Toyohibiki somehow combines the tachiai of Tosanoumi with the belly-flops of Miyabiyama.

I hope he can stop the latter.

[krindel 684]

I am really glad to see both Daeisho (2nd youngest sekitori) and Kagayaki (3rd youngest) performing so well in Juryo. Hope they keep this up so we can see them in Makuuchi soon.

Onosho (the only guy younger than those two) seems to have a realistic chance of staying in Juryo, but its obvious he found the going much tougher there than in Makushita. Hope he also manages to stick around for Haru...

[Morty 1,517]

Ama has something a little more savage, less controlled than the other rikishi. I like that. A little

And I feel sorry for Kaisei. He didn't deserved the rough treatment.

I don't understand what you mean by Kaisei not deserving rough treatment. This was Harumafuji's favorite choke-hold that he uses all the time. Kaisei didn't have an answer for it and just fell.

I agree 100% with you that Harumafuji is a bit of a wild one. And yes, I, too like it most of the time. When I say most of the time, I mean when he is wild DURING the match. I don't like the fact that sometimes he doesn't restrain himself when the match is almost won. I would have preferred the same level of restraint that other rikishi exhibit when victory is 120% (apologies to math enthusiasts) in the bag. I don't mean that he should pull back and allow his opponent to make a counter-attack. I just mean he should show a little "OK buster, I've kicked your butt but I don't want to injure you" attitude, which, to his credit, he does exhibit most of the time.

Harumafuji uses the tools he has in his arsenal to his best advantage. Most of his opponents outweigh him by over 20kg, and he is also shorter than most of them, so he has to rely on his explosive speed, agility, and superlative technique and that little vicious streak. Kaisei has 40kg and 10cm height on him yet got tossed around like a rag doll. Sumo is much more about technique than about weight and size but in any fight, the bigger out of two evenly skilled opponents will usually win (my grandfather the champion boxer explained that one to me). Harumafuji never would have become a Yokozuna if he hadn't worked out how best to use the advantages he brings to the dohyo. If I was Endo I'd be making a study of Harumafuji and trying to be just like him, because Harumafuji is the template for how to be successful at that size.

[Andreas21 202]

Looks like the Jo-i spots up to Sekiwake heading for Make Koshi altogether making space in the lower Sanyaku for surprise promotions from deep down ... and Goeido of course.