BASHO TALK -- Natsu 2017 -- SPOILERS

[Rocks 1,807]

12 minutes ago, Amamaniac said:

Frankly, if Ura keeps winning, I could see Ura getting the nod rather than Shodai.  Shodai is higher up in the banzuke, but his record is not as good as Ura's (10-2) in this tournament.

That won't happen. They aren't going to give Hakuho an easy bout against an M10 when Harumafuji has to face an Ozeki with the Yusho on the line.    They'll put him against the highest ranked guy who's shown he can beat a Yokozuna.

[Asojima 2,870]

20 minutes ago, Kuroyama said:

Trying to gain a psychological advantage is expressly the purpose of the shikiri.

For me, the shikiri is as interesting as the actual match.  The old Ustream was excellent because the one camera perspective allowed us to watch the shikiri in its entirety.  The body language of the rikishi usually reveals who is peaked and who is not. It also gives henka and strategy clues.  Outcomes become very predictable when the shikiri is studied.

[Asashosakari 18,786]

39 minutes ago, Amamaniac said:

Frankly, if Ura keeps winning, I could see Ura getting the nod rather than Shodai.  Shodai is higher up in the banzuke, but his record is not as good as Ura's (10-2) in this tournament.

There aren't any further bouts before the decision on the Day 14 schedule will be made.

[Bumpkin 438]

27 minutes ago, Asashosakari said:

There aren't any further bouts before the decision on the Day 14 schedule will be made.

You are, of course, correct. The day 14 torikumi will be released 5 hours from now, at 12:00 noon JST. I highly doubt Terunofuji will withdraw from the tournament between now and then.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Bumpkin

[Bumpkin 438]

Day 14 will be Yokozuna Harumafuji (11-1) v Ozeki Goeido (7-5) and Yokozuna Hakuho (12-0) v Ozeki Terunofuji (10-2). Interestingly both Sekiwake Takayasu (10-2) and Sekiwake Tamawashi (9-3) have open slots. I wonder who they both will face.

[Rocks 1,807]

Probably Shodai and Ikioi.

[Bumpkin 438]

Day 15 should be Harumafuji v Hakuho; Terunofuji v Takayasu and Goeido v Tamawashi.

[Amamaniac 2,078]

28 minutes ago, Bumpkin said:

You are, of course, correct. The day 14 torikumi will be released in about 5 hours from now, at 12:00 noon JST. I highly doubt Terunofuji will withdraw from the tournament betwwen now and then.

This will require some thought from Isegahama oyakata.  He will want Terunofuji to stay in the tournament since the latter has an outside shot at the championship.  On top of that, Terunofuji could potentially defeat Hakuho giving the Harumafuji a better chance at the championship.  But if Terunofuji injures himself further in his bout against Tochiozan on Day 13 and that forces Teru to withdraw on Day 14, he'll be handing Hakuho a fusensho.  This would be a set back to Harumafuji's (i.e., Isegahama stable) chances at the championship because Hakuho will get an extra day's rest before the Senshuraku.  Then again, a rest may work against him.  This is all wasted speculation if Haru loses to Takayasu today (i.e., Day 13)... 

Edited May 25, 2017 by Amamaniac
clarification

[Bumpkin 438]

14 minutes ago, Amamaniac said:

This will require some thought from Isegahama oyakata.  He will want Terunofuji to stay in the tournament since the latter has an outside shot at the championship.  On top of that, Terunofuji could potentially defeat Hakuho giving the Harumafuji a better chance at the championship.  But if Terunofuji injures himself further in his bout against Tochiozan on Day 13 and that forces Teru to withdraw on Day 14, he'll be handing Hakuho a fusensho.  This would be a set back to Harumafuji's (i.e., Isegahama stable) chances at the championship because Hakuho will get an extra day's rest before the Senshuraku.  Then again, a rest may work against him.  This is all wasted speculation if Haru loses to Takayasu today (i.e., Day 13)... 

There is no such thing as "wasted speculation."

[Bumpkin 438]

If Sekiwake Tamawashi (9-3) wins out and finishes 12-3, with wins over both Hakuho and Terunofuji, is there any chance he gets promoted to Ozeki?

Edited May 25, 2017 by Bumpkin

[Rocks 1,807]

Just now, Bumpkin said:

If Sekiwake Tamawashi (9-3) wins out and finishes 12-3, with wins over both Harumafuji and Hakuho, is there any chance he gets promoted to Ozeki?

No, that's not even 30 wins in his last 3 basho. But if he gets 11 people will start talking about a run.

[PawnSums 59]

1 minute ago, Bumpkin said:

If Sekiwake Tamawashi (9-3) wins out and finishes 12-3, with wins over both Harumafuji and Hakuho, is there any chance he gets promoted to Ozeki?

That would be AWESOME!!

[Gurowake 3,915]

3 hours ago, Bumpkin said:

If Sekiwake Tamawashi (9-3) wins out and finishes 12-3, with wins over both Hakuho and Terunofuji, is there any chance he gets promoted to Ozeki?

I reckon about as likely as the Pope converting to Islam.  Yes, it's logically possible, and it can come true just by the decision of some human(s), but...

Edited May 26, 2017 by Gurowake

[Gurowake 3,915]

6 hours ago, RabidJohn said:

Takayasu has seemingly done what he needed to for his ozeki promotion, and while he may lose to Harumafuji tomorrow, he's still likely to improve on 10 wins to clinch the deal. When are we likely to hear something official about it?

If he wins Day 13 or 14, I expect they won't announce anything until after the tournament because no one is really going to be wondering.  If he loses both of those matches though, I expect that they will announce before Day 15 if he needs to win that day to get promoted.  If he does lose both matches and they don't make such an announcement, I would take it as a sign that he doesn't need to win the last one.  However, given that he "limped in" (to appropriate a poker phrase) to the Komusubi position to start this sanyaku run, has never had a long stint of appearances in the joi before, and only 1 10-win tournament in the joi (and at merely M3) before this most recent year, I find it quite likely that he'll need to win at least one of his remaining matches.  If he doesn't, however, I would expect 11 next tournament (meaning 33 over Haru-Natsu-Nagoya) would be sufficient, having built up that additional history.

But those are just my expectations, and they might be totally off base.

[sekitori 492]

9 hours ago, Kotogouryuu said:

The thing is, medical opinion on knee injuries is rapidly changing. Several studies have been made recently, and it would seem that invasive surgery is often useless, and many times actually harmful. The threshold when a surgery is recommended is rising all the time.

Of course, that would sort of assume that the recovery time and methods are the same, instead of continuing to compete in a combat sport. Anyway, it isn't quite as clear cut as many people think.

I find it interesting that some people cite "several studies" as proof of some sort of medical fact. The idea that a few studies come to a certain conclusion means very little. If more than just a few studies come to the same conclusion, that could be interesting. But only if the consensus of studies agree to those facts, will I believe them. 

As stated before, these studies undoubtedly pertain to people living everyday lives where surgery may be of little or no value. However, when it comes to an activity where bodies weighing more than 160 kilograms regularly come crashing together, having a torn ACL surgically repaired is the only sensible thing to do. Below is a direct quote from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons:

"Nonsurgical management of isolated ACL tears is likely to be successful or may be indicated in patients:

• With partial tears and no instability symptoms
• With complete tears and no symptoms of knee instability during low-demand sports who are willing to give up high-demand sports (my bold print, not theirs)
• Who do light manual work or live sedentary lifestyles"

Since sumo is probably one of the most physically demanding activities around, the choice of nonsurgical management of ACL tears is an extremely poor one. By choosing to avoid the only possible way to get Endo's knee in as good a shape as possible after such a severe injury, his advisors have done an excellent job of screwing up what could have been a much more promising career.

[Bumpkin 438]

4 hours ago, Bumpkin said:

Day 14 will be Yokozuna Harumafuji (11-1) v Ozeki Goeido (7-5) and Yokozuna Hakuho (12-0) v Ozeki Terunofuji (10-2). Interestingly both Sekiwake Takayasu (10-2) and Sekiwake Tamawashi (9-3) have open slots. I wonder who they both will face.

Day 14: Takayasu v Shodai; Tamawashi v Tochinoshin and Ura v Takakeisho

[Kuroyama 715]

1 hour ago, sekitori said:

Since sumo is probably one of the most physically demanding activities around, the choice of nonsurgical management of ACL tears is an extremely poor one. By choosing to avoid the only possible way to get Endo's knee in as good a shape as possible after such a severe injury, his advisors have done an excellent job of screwing up what could have been a much more promising career.

It is, of course, not just Endo. This is a systemic problem in sumo, and it's cut short the careers of many otherwise promising rikishi. If they've had any longevity in the sport, they've been stuck at lower ranks than they'd otherwise achieve. Who? It's pretty much anyone going into a bout with a great big honkin' knee brace on.

[Bumpkin 438]

Jk93 Enho (7-0) has won the Jonokuchi yusho.  Jd33e Tsuyukusa (7-0) and Jd67e Mihamaumi (7-0) will meet in a play-off for the Jonidan yusho.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Bumpkin

[Katooshu 3,132]

Yay for the little guy 

[robnplunder 974]

5 hours ago, Bumpkin said:

There is no such thing as "wasted speculation."

2nd that.   This is what this kind of forum/post are partially about.  

[Rocks 1,807]

5 minutes ago, Bumpkin said:

Jk93 Enho (7-0) has won the Jonokuchi yusho. Jd33 Tsuyukusa (7-0) and Jd67 Mihamaumi (7-0) will meet in a play-off for the Jonidan yusho.

Wow,  Mihamaumi started 5 years ago at age 15. He's never gotten over 5 wins in a yusho before. Wild. Good for him.

[rhyen 1,809]

And Toyonoshima just lost to a very spirited Akua. 

Aminishiki KKs against Takagenji after the whippersnapper committed 2 matta.

Edited May 26, 2017 by rhyen

[Senkoho 552]

Go Tsuyukusa!!!

[Jakusotsu 5,806]

I'm very, very happy about veteran Oiwato/Kanbayashi winning his first ever career yusho!
Yay!

[Asojima 2,870]

Aminishiki KK - against Takagenji