Basho Talk Hatsu 2018 (SPOILERS)

[VirtualSumo 3]

Such a shame that these bad calls are taking attention away from the awesome displays this basho by Tochinoshin and Ichinojo.  They both look so good it doeant seem like it will be a "flash in the pan" if they can avoid injury.  How far can they go this year?

[d_golem 213]

Takakeisho-Hokutofuji...my forehead hurts just watching the bout...

[wys 55]

Ichinojo, Tochinoshin, Goeido, and Kakuryu looked really impressive on day 9.

Ichinojo tosses Onosho out like rag-doll.  Tochinoshin is crazy strong, lifting Mitakeumi like a little child in the air. Being on the losing end of a tsuridashi must be one of the more embarrassing moments in sumo. And it seems like Goeido learned his lesson from day 8 and just blasted his opponent out of the ring on the tachiai. And Kakuryu just overpowers Arawashi.  It seems to me the tournament is going to come down to Tochinoshin and Kakuryu.

And that match between Takakeisho and Hokutofuji was entertaining as heck. Great to see such fighting spirit in the dohyo. They really beat each other up on that one.

Lastly, who were those two ladies dressed in all neon pink  behind the gyoji? 

[Jaynestown 17]

9 hours ago, Yukiarashi said:

Hakuho definitely seems to find a new way to punk with him everytime they go against each other, the jikan-mae, the nekodamashi, and just seems like he tries beating his face in every fight. 

He seems to strut around like he's a Yokozuna, with the steely-eyed look on his face, but with his sideburns he resembles more of a Japanese Elvis.

That's probably what it is, Hakuho doesn't like Elvis.

Yeah hakuho definitely dislikes that guy, lol

[Jaynestown 17]

12 minutes ago, wys said:

Ichinojo, Tochinoshin, Goeido, and Kakuryu looked really impressive on day 9.

Ichinojo tosses Onosho out like rag-doll.  Tochinoshin is crazy strong, lifting Mitakeumi like a little child in the air. Being on the losing end of a tsuridashi must be one of the more embarrassing moments in sumo. And it seems like Goeido learned his lesson from day 8 and just blasted his opponent out of the ring on the tachiai. And Kakuryu just overpowers Arawashi.  It seems to me the tournament is going to come down to Tochinoshin and Kakuryu.

And that match between Takakeisho and Hokutofuji was entertaining as heck. Great to see such fighting spirit in the dohyo. They really beat each other up on that one.

Lastly, who were those two ladies dressed in all neon pink  behind the gyoji? 

At this rate it is definitely Kakuryu's to lose.  15-0 seems extremely possible (hard for me to imagine who will defeat him at this rate barring an injury flare up or Yoshikaze / Hakuho type matchup from last basho), his sumo has been extremely solid so far.  Tochinoshin also looks like he will be hard to stop and could be the bad luck runner up at 14-1.  Just a case of the unstoppable meeting the immovable, one of them had to lose their matchup.

[Jakusotsu 5,757]

45 minutes ago, Jaynestown said:

hard for me to imagine who will defeat him at this rate

My money is on Goeido who has been trading wins with Kakuryu lately and it's his turn again.

[WAKATAKE 2,624]

The lack of monoii for some of these close matches has been frustrating. If you’re going to call one way fine, but I’d at least like to see that you took a look at it.

[dada78641 884]

It was snowing like mad today in Tokyo, so there was a big snow warning frame on the image at all times. Here's today's Kokugikan pan shot, in three pictures.

By the end of the day, it looked like this:

[dada78641 884]

I bet it's been a very long time since someone just lifted Mitakeumi up like that. He weighs 149kg. Amazing display of strength by Tochinoshin.

He already fought and lost against Kakuryuu, so if someone can just give the guy one loss we could have a playoff.

[Rocks 1,805]

1 hour ago, Jakusotsu said:

My money is on Goeido who has been trading wins with Kakuryu lately and it's his turn again.

Yes, Kakuryu is looking very good but I think he loses to at least one, and maybe both, of the Ozeki. I would not be surprised to see the winner of the yusho 13-2 or even 12-3. It just depends on when Kakuryu's loss happens I think.

[ALAKTORN 346]

9 minutes ago, Rocks said:

Yes, Kakuryu is looking very good but I think he loses to at least one, and maybe both, of the Ozeki. I would not be surprised to see the winner of the yusho 13-2 or even 12-3. It just depends on when Kakuryu's loss happens I think.

I have a feeling this yūshō won’t go lower than 13–2. Kakuryū taking it with 13–2 seems plausible.

[dada78641 884]

I took some Tochinoshin action shots.

Reverse angle:

[RabidJohn 1,644]

I could really get into Tochinoshin, if only I believed that knee of his would permit him to do this consistently.

[Yamanashi 3,689]

3 hours ago, wys said:

Tochinoshin is crazy strong, lifting Mitakeumi like a little child in the air. Being on the losing end of a tsuridashi must be one of the more embarrassing moments in sumo

Agree. When I saw it I thought "this is the 'dunk in your face' of sumo."

[Bumpkin 438]

Y2e Kakuryu (9-0) has M5e Okinoumi (3-6) on Day 10 and should have K1w Onosho (4-5) on Day 11; S1w Tamawashi (3-6) on Day 12; S1e Mitakeumi (7-2) on Day 13; O1w Takayasu (6-3) on Day 14 and O1e Goeido (6-3) on Day 15.

M3w Tochinoshin (8-1) has M2w Kotoshogiku (4-5) on Day 10 and should face S1w Tamawashi (3-6), K1w Onosho (4-5), M1e Hokutofuji (2-7), M1w Ichinojo (5-4) and M3e Chiyotairyu (3-6) on Days 11-15.

[Benihana 1,900]

46 minutes ago, Yamanashi said:

Agree. When I saw it I thought "this is the 'dunk in your face' of sumo."

I beg to differ. The 'dunk in your face' of sumo is when you get lifted up and then slammed onto the dohyo with full force.

Spoiler

 

 

[Yukiarashi 195]

I have to wonder where Tochinoshin goes from here. I don't think he'll do the Okinoumi and collapse the second week, I think he'll still finish 11-4-12-3. It makes me think of Nagoya 2016 where Takayasu broke out going against the top guys. He didn't do historically well against the Yokozuna and lost to them again,  but he showed what he could do when he was recovered from injuries and started his rise to Ozeki. Maybe Tochinoshin can do the same? There really aren't any strong candidates other than Mitakeumi who he beat convincingly today. Tochinoshin has a terrible record against Hakuho, and Kakuryu but he may have a chance. He is a lot older than Takayasu was though right now but maybe he can take advantage of the attrition at the top. He might not make it to Ozeki but I do think if his knee holds up he can become a consistent Sekiwake for a couple of years and I think he'll finally beat Hakuho this year. He doesn't deserve to be 0-25 against anyone. 

[Yukiarashi 195]

1 hour ago, Yamanashi said:

Agree. When I saw it I thought "this is the 'dunk in your face' of sumo."

That's what Ichinojo had beating Onosho, except it was the face he was dunking right into the dohyo. 

[Yamanashi 3,689]

1 hour ago, Benihana said:

I beg to differ. The 'dunk in your face' of sumo is when you get lifted up and then slammed onto the dohyo with full force.

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Thanks for your reply.  Actually, I beg to differ with your differing.  There is no basketball equivalent of Ama vs. Goeido without fouling.  What I was noticing was the embarrassment of having your wiggly toes in the air as you are being escorted out; the usual IYF dunk is not that violent to the victim -- though the syllogism "this basketball = your head" is of course manifest, as I'm sure Charles Barkley would say .

[yorikiried by fate 1,987]

5 hours ago, wys said:

 Being on the losing end of a tsuridashi must be one of the more embarrassing moments in sumo.

Depends. If you manage to loose yourself and just let the moment cascade towards the end, it might also be quite liberating. The sumo equivalent to debuting at a nudist camp.

[Yukiarashi 195]

This is my favorite one, I love how Yoshikaze with his usually nuts style of fighting was just lifted up and complied. 

[Kishinoyama 582]

44 minutes ago, Yukiarashi said:

This is my favorite one, I love how Yoshikaze with his usually nuts style of fighting was just lifted up and complied. 

A wonderful sight. A relatively healthy Baruto.

Edited January 22, 2018 by Kishinoyama

[Atenzan 1,074]

55 minutes ago, yorikiried by fate said:

The sumo equivalent to debuting at a nudist camp.

Or should I say de-butting.

...

I'll show myself out. 

[Yukiarashi 195]

With my profile name I feel obligated to comment on these

How tranquil.

[Dapeng 232]

19 minutes ago, Yukiarashi said:

With my profile name I feel obligated to comment on these

How tranquil.

Not a snowstorm?