Basho Talk Hatsu 2018 (SPOILERS)

[Amamaniac 2,078]

Tochinoshin has had three Top Division junyusho in his career.  But he has never won more than 12 bouts in a tournament.  

Let's say he remains perfect for the rest of the honbasho.  If he hopes to have a chance at the yusho, Kakuryu has to drop at least one bout.  Will Goeido or Takayasu (or even Mitakeumi) make things interesting by stopping the freight train that is Kakuryu?

Edited January 24, 2018 by Amamaniac

[Benevolance 2,478]

Don't worry, Amamaniac, Goeidou's got this. I've got an inside scoop that the foreigners are going to call this basho in and a Japanese rikishi will take the yusho. 

[Yukiarashi 195]

55 minutes ago, yorikiried by fate said:

In which way did you perceive the world of sumo til now as creative?

I don't know, but that two socks for a Yokozuna rule seems like a very unusual way to establish hierarchy. 

Having feet related garmets as a perk seems creative, but asinine. 

[yorikiried by fate 1,989]

Yeah, but this rule is probably 6 million years old. It might have been creative, when it was created.

I get what you are wishing for, but if an NSK official touches any piece of food, it turns into a can. Conservative spells "N S K". Creativity is not exactly sought out.

[Yubinhaad 11,546]

Random bouts I've enjoyed over the last few days.

A case of déjà vu in Makushita on Day 7, where Keitenkai and Shosei played out two very short and near identical attempts, before Keitenkai finally won when Shosei's tottari attempt went wrong.

Day 8, Azumasato's relentless oshi attack overwhelms Musashikuni.

Day 9, Kaiho was unmoved by Wakaichiro's whacky pre-tachiai routine, moving to 5-0 with ease.

And a few from Day 10. After a matta and a whole lotta leaning with Gokushindo, Satoyama makes his move, only for his foot to pick that moment to slip.

An entertaining tall vs. short yotsu battle here, with Ayanoumi finally emerging victorious.

Torakio seemed to suffer an arm or shoulder injury in today's bout with 38-year-old veteran and Yubinhaad-beya member Gorikiyama. It's possible however that the Bulgarian has been troubled by it for a few days, because he looked half asleep in his two previous bouts.

[Atenzan 1,074]

2 hours ago, Yukiarashi said:

Takarafuji? Daieisho? Someone creative!

No way! Both of them are in my Bench Sumo lineup. Life is hard enough already, ask Kintamayama. Or Jejima. Or Tenshinhan. Or Sakura. Or Fujisan. I'll tell you one thing, there's been eighteen 0-0 matchups in that game since it started in Aki 1999, and two of them happened today! 

(off-topic)

[Amamaniac 2,078]

3 hours ago, Benevolance said:

I've got an inside scoop that the foreigners are going to call this basho in and a Japanese rikishi will take the yusho. 

Whatever you're smoking, Benevolance, I want me some!  If you're keen on seeing a Japanese rikishi take the yusho, I think Daieisho has a better chance than Goeido. But I will concede that Goeido looked flawless in his win against Tamawashi on Day 9.  Too bad he can't fight like that every day!

[Kishinoyama 582]

2 hours ago, Yubinhaad said:

Random bouts I've enjoyed over the last few days.

An entertaining tall vs. short yotsu battle here, with Ayanoumi finally emerging victorious.

I guessed who the tall rikishi was before I clicked the link and I was right. Not any Azuma but Oazuma. 

[Tiger Tanaka 222]

Wonder if Mitakeumi came out too over eager after the previous day's loss to Tochinoshin. He seemed to over-pursue and his feet got caught behind him, which rarely happens to the stable sekiwake. Hope he can finish the basho at least 3-2 to get those double digits, though with Hakuho out I would have really liked to see 11-12 wins.

[Yukiarashi 195]

2 hours ago, McBugger said:

No way! Both of them are in my Bench Sumo lineup. Life is hard enough already, ask Kintamayama. Or Jejima. Or Tenshinhan. Or Sakura. Or Fujisan. I'll tell you one thing, there's been eighteen 0-0 matchups in that game since it started in Aki 1999, and two of them happened today! 

(off-topic)

I just love the completely random trivia on this site.

[ScreechingOwl 343]

Not counting his kyujo bouts, Kisenosato has faced 19 maegashira rikishi during his time as yokozuna. He's won 9 of the bouts and lost 10, a "winning" percentage of 47%. Let the kinboshi fly!

[Burajirotono 99]

Yokozuna Kinboshisato - The Stars Giver 

Terunofuji will fight again? If he gets an KK i will became a jehova´s witness...

Anyone knows about the extension of Onosho´s injury? 

 

[Bumpkin 438]

6 hours ago, Bumpkin said:

It is traditional for the four highest rikishi to do a round-robin on Days 13, 14 and 15.

Day 12 Torikumi:

Y2e Kakuryu (10-0) v M5w Endo (6-4)

O1e Goeido (6-4) v O1w Takayasu (7-3)

M3w Tochinoshin (9-1) v S1w Tamawashi (3-7)

So the Kyokai decided to have the all Ozeki bout on Day 12. I wonder why they did that?

[Irakusamaru 77]

13 hours ago, Akinomaki said:

When rikishi get promoted to yokozuna or ozeki, they hand these work hakama trousers (tattsuke-bakama 裁っ着け袴) as presents to the yobidashi - NHK didn't say if to all, or e.g. only of their ichimon or even only the heya. The yobidashi may have also other names on it - e.g. of the oyakata/heya - Hakkaku here

Cool, thanks! I enjoy all this background detail!

[Sakura 1,472]

1 hour ago, Bumpkin said:

Day 12 Torikumi:

Y2e Kakuryu (10-0) v M5w Endo (6-4)

O1e Goeido (6-4) v O1w Takayasu (7-3)

M3w Tochinoshin (9-1) v S1w Tamawashi (3-7)

So the Kyokai decided to have the all Ozeki bout on Day 12. I wonder why they did that?

To preserve at least one intra-sanyaku bout per day as I mentioned before. I just assumed it'd be Kakuryu-Mitakeumi on 12 and Goeido-Takayasu on 13 thinking that they'd want to keep the Ozeki match-up later. Instead, they've opted for the more traditional Yokozuna counting backwards scheduling thing (don't know how else to describe it). I shouldn't have expected anything else. 

I was expecting the Tochinoshin-Tamawashi match-up but I'm disappointed they didn't save it for Day 15 which would have been nice to see as the third-to-last bout.

[Bumpkin 438]

21 minutes ago, Sakura said:

To preserve at least one intra-sanyaku bout per day as I mentioned before. I just assumed it'd be Kakuryu-Mitakeumi on 12 and Goeido-Takayasu on 13 thinking that they'd want to keep the Ozeki match-up later. Instead, they've opted for the more traditional Yokozuna counting backwards scheduling thing (don't know how else to describe it). I shouldn't have expected anything else. 

I was expecting the Tochinoshin-Tamawashi match-up but I'm disappointed they didn't save it for Day 15 which would have been nice to see as the third-to-last bout.

You are, of course, correct. They want at least one intra-sanyku bout per day. I wonder whom Tamawashi will face on Day 15?

[Sakura 1,472]

10 minutes ago, Bumpkin said:

You are, of course, correct. They want at least one intra-sanyku bout per day. I wonder whom Tamawashi will face on Day 15?

If he's still fighting for a Komusubi slot attempting to go 7-8, it could be interesting. I'm assuming that even if he's going out of Sanyaku entirely they'll want someone fighting for a Sanyaku slot. I am of course assuming he'll lose to Kakuryu, but if he wins that and all the rest then an 8-7 would be possible.

[Taikoubana 143]

What an upset!! With Tamawashi fighting Tochinoshin tomorrow, we've got a very interesting few days ahead of us.

If Tochinoshin wins the yusho, won't it be the first time a Georgian takes home the cup?

[Katooshu 3,135]

15 hours ago, wys said:

Takakeisho's loss is heart-breaking because he really put himself in a bad position when he made that huge step back at the end. Aside from his loss and not to sound callous, Takakeisho falling off the dohyo is the cutest thing in sumo.

And I am glad Endo won against Shohozan. I can't stand Shohozan's face-slapping sumo. It irks me to no end.

And what's with the stare-down between Tamawashi and Takayasu? Is there bad blood between these two?

Cheers,

X2 on Shohozan. Funny that a couple tournaments ago he complained about being slapped by Chiyoshoma...

Edited January 24, 2018 by Katooshu

[Jyuunomori 226]

Plot thickens! If Tsujoishin wins the basho it will be delicious.

 

[ALAKTORN 346]

What the hell’s wrong with Mitakeumi?

Why did Kakuryū pull!! I thought he was doing such great sumō this basho, literally never seen him pull… then he does, against Tamawashi of all people (oshi specialist), and loses. Bah.

This would be really interesting if by the end we get a Kakuryū–Tochinoshin kettei-sen.

[Katooshu 3,135]

Next for Tochinoshin is Tamawashi, a guy he's beaten 6 times in a row (contrast that with Kakuryu losing 3 straight to Tamawashi). After that it will be all maegashira for him unless injured Onosho returns.

It could happen....

Edited January 24, 2018 by Katooshu

[yorikiried by fate 1,989]

Hehe, Kaisei has won by absorbitsuki.

[Jakusotsu 5,815]

1 hour ago, yorikiried by fate said:

Hehe, Kaisei has won by absorbitsuki.

Indeed. Yutakayama must be the successor of Wakakoyu regarding the most ineffective tsuppari.

[Yatagarasu 352]

I cannot get over how impressive Tochinoshin has been this basho.  It's so nice to see him liberated from the shackles of injury.  And consistent to boot.  I hope this is an upward arc for him.

The Shohouzan-Ikioi bout would have made E Honda proud.