Haru Basho 2019 Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Akōgyokuseki 229]

Frustrated ozeki Tochinoshin apparently shed tears afterwards in the shitakubeya. When asked about his current batch of losses he replied in a shaky voice;"I can't help it. Tomorrow, I will just have to do my best" ...

https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2019/03/21/kiji/20190321s00005000294000c.html

 

[Jakusotsu 6,390]

2 minutes ago, Akōgyokuseki said:

"I can't help it. Tomorrow, I will just have to do my best" ...

Perhaps I should revise my picks for tomorrow...

[Eikokurai 3,437]

36 minutes ago, Akōgyokuseki said:

Frustrated ozeki Tochinoshin apparently shed tears afterwards in the shitakubeya. When asked about his current batch of losses he replied in a shaky voice;"I can't help it. Tomorrow, I will just have to do my best" ...

https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2019/03/21/kiji/20190321s00005000294000c.html

 

He’s facing the prospect of becoming the joint shortest-reigning Ozeki in history. That must weigh on a man’s mind, especially when that man knows it’s not because of his ability. A year ago he was wrestling like a Yokozuna. 

[Dapeng 236]

5 hours ago, robnplunder said:

That strong performance does not bode well for Takakeisho who will go 8-5 after the match.     Takakeisho needs to beat Tochinoshin, and another riskishi to be named later which are possible given Tochinoshin's current form.   As long as he does not face Ichinojo, 2 wins for Takakeisho is doable.

Takakeisho needs to win all the remaining three bouts to secure promotion. I think 10 wins will not be enough. His problem is that he has a prominent weak point and high rankers know how to exploit it. His style reminds me of early day's Musashimaru. Only after Musashimaru learnt yotsu that he was promoted to Ozeki and (much) later Yokozuna. If Takakeisho can grow 5-10 cm higher and learn yotsu, he will become a Yokozuna.

  

[Amamaniac 2,091]

4 hours ago, Dwale said:

Hakuho may well zensho, making me eat my words. Wouldn't be the first time. I would prefer the excitement of going into senshuraku with the yusho undecided, of course, so I'll be cheering Goeido tomorrow.

Goeido's Osaka yusho hopes are riding on your cheers!   If that is too much pressure, then let's just say his destiny is in his own hands.

Interestingly, both Goeido and Takayasu are 10-2, two wins behind Hakuho.  If, by some fluke, both Ozekis upset the GOAT cart, that would bring all three top wrestlers on par.  Goeido and Takayasu still need to face off, so that would mean only one Ozeki would be left even with Hakuho.  

However, if Ichinojo keeps winning, he would end up in the lead!!!  Idle speculation, but the one rule of sumo is: "anything can happen".

[Rainoyama 1,157]

If Takakeisho fails to secure his promotion and Tochinoshin fails to save his rank which is the most likely scenario as for today we would be left with just 2 aging and as a result injury prone Yokozunac and 2 ozeki (Goeido is more consistent lately but he is 32 and Goeido, Takayasu looks stronger but have been injured quite a bit too). With only 4 top dogs left at the top I wouldn't be  surprised if someone secures a promotion this year.  The thing is there are many guys that are candidates but are yet to get to that next level. If he was to fail this time Takakeisho would still the lead candidate, Mitakeumi if he gets healthy can be a candidate too, Ichinojo if he can continue to produce solid sumo like he is now can be a candidate too. Tamawashi failed this time and is 36 but can be one as well.

[Rainoyama 1,157]

On an other note, I think not promoting Takakeisho with 10 wins would be very harsh, it'd be not promoting him for the second time when he'd have 34 wins including a Yusho, he would have a 9-6 KK as Sekiwake before that run and two 10-5 before that to show he is consistent. That would be really tough. I'd understand if he gets just 9 since they refused last time but 10 surely he would deserve it. Can he get 10 though ? That's another question.

[Dapeng 236]

39 minutes ago, Rainoyama said:

On an other note, I think not promoting Takakeisho with 10 wins would be very harsh, it'd be not promoting him for the second time when he'd have 34 wins including a Yusho, he would have a 9-6 KK as Sekiwake before that run and two 10-5 before that to show he is consistent. That would be really tough. I'd understand if he gets just 9 since they refused last time but 10 surely he would deserve it. Can he get 10 though ? That's another question.

He'll have the two remaining ozeki and probably Ichinojo on day-15. Losing to any of them will be a big setback for his promotion. 

[Yubinhaad 11,959]

Shoketsu fought the 1,000th consecutive bout of his career today, a yorikiri win against Goryu. On the next banzuke this ironman of the lower divisions will return to Makushita at the age of 42.

[Dwale 419]

1 hour ago, Amamaniac said:

Goeido's Osaka yusho hopes are riding on your cheers!   If that is too much pressure, then let's just say his destiny is in his own hands.

Interestingly, both Goeido and Takayasu are 10-2, two wins behind Hakuho.  If, by some fluke, both Ozekis upset the GOAT cart, that would bring all three top wrestlers on par.  Goeido and Takayasu still need to face off, so that would mean only one Ozeki would be left even with Hakuho.  

However, if Ichinojo keeps winning, he would end up in the lead!!!  Idle speculation, but the one rule of sumo is: "anything can happen".

Being a sumo fan has made me more superstitious somehow, at least when it comes to sumo. Logically I know it doesn't work like that, but I can't shake the feeling.

And yes. That would be an *amazing* turn of events. It's precisely what I'm hoping for.

[Jabbamaru 169]

Tamawashi-Endo; niiiiiice...

Hooray for Enho! I don't thing such a small fellow can live long in Makuchi but, like Ura, will be a very enjoyable short journey...

i promised myself i wouldn't wake up 4am on weekdays this time...But at this point im officially a basho zoombi. Again.

[Dwale 419]

3 hours ago, Rainoyama said:

[...]Goeido is more consistent lately but he is 32 and Goeido[...]

LOL At first I thought this was a typo, but then it was like, "No, no, that's right!"

[Jakusotsu 6,390]

3 hours ago, Rainoyama said:

On an other note, I think not promoting Takakeisho with 10 wins would be very harsh, it'd be not promoting him for the second time when he'd have 34 wins including a Yusho, he would have a 9-6 KK as Sekiwake before that run and two 10-5 before that to show he is consistent. That would be really tough. I'd understand if he gets just 9 since they refused last time but 10 surely he would deserve it. Can he get 10 though ? That's another question.

I'm really sitting on the fence here. 11-4 should seal it for sure, but a run of 13-2 Y, 11-4 J, 10-5 looks a wee bit anticlimatic. Somehow I'd rather like to wait another basho to see if he could step it up a notch again. 9-6 on the other hand begs for another yusho-equivalent in May, and 8-7 will probably set him back to square one.

[robnplunder 978]

9 hours ago, Apayasu said:

And - for me - Nishikigi. Somehow I expected him to continue his dominant sumo in March. Didn't happen, but I hope he'll grow to  a very successful rikishi. 

As much as I like Nishikigi, I didn't think he'd do well in this basho.   He was less than .500 at M3 & M2 in the last two bashos against Sanyuku depleted field.   With almost every sanyuku in the field in this basho, he met the Makuuchi wall.  I hope to see him bounce back in the next basho to reclaim a joi position and go from there.

[Amamaniac 2,091]

Thus far, Takakeisho's only saving grace (in terms of Ozeki promotion) was his victory over Yokozuna Kakuryu – i.e., one sanyaku scalp.  But he has lost against four sanyaku opponents, and if he loses against Takayasu and Tochinoshin, his record will be less than impressive.  

But he has to win against one of the two (he has a better chance of beating Tochinoshin), and then he will have to beat Ichinojo on Day 14, by the looks of the advance matchups.  Takakeisho is 7-2 against Ichinojo 1.0.  This tournament he will have to contend with Ichinojo 2.0!

Goeido found yet another way to defeat Takakeisho today, and admittedly my enthusiasm for the latter has lost some of its intensity.  This time around, Goeido did not (manage to) go for the mawashi to create a yotsu battle, but he stayed in close and that all but defused Taakkeisho's thrusting attack.  It would be a major disappointment if Takakeisho fails to get 10 wins in Osaka.  Moreover, that would definitely taint any immediate Ozeki run following this tournament.  But Fujishima shimpancho would probably feel vindicated for not having supported Takakeisho's promotion back in January.

I'll be holding my breath until the end. 

Edited March 21, 2019 by Amamaniac

[Sue 535]

3 hours ago, Rainoyama said:

With only 4 top dogs left at the top I wouldn't be  surprised if someone secures a promotion this year.  The thing is there are many guys that are candidates but are yet to get to that next level. 

Shodai? *ducking and running*

[Rainoyama 1,157]

Just now, Sue said:

Shodai? *ducking and running*

He is the next ozeki forever in my heart aha. So many things wrong with his sumo currently, he had a good tachi ai the other day and had a convincing win and it just made me wish so bad  he'd do that more often. He was trying his trademark counter at the edge that everybody knows now against 204 kg Kaisei today... and looking surprised and annoyed after he lost. He has the body and the talent but not the mind. He'll fall down the ranks quite a lot, I just hope he'll build some confidence again and try to change his sumo a bit as clearly it's not working right now.

[Akinomaki 41,784]

1 hour ago, Jakusotsu said:

I'm really sitting on the fence here. 11-4 should seal it for sure, but a run of 13-2 Y, 11-4 J, 10-5 looks a wee bit anticlimatic. Somehow I'd rather like to wait another basho to see if he could step it up a notch again. 9-6 on the other hand begs for another yusho-equivalent in May, and 8-7 will probably set him back to square one.

10 wins should be enough - IF he can add to the impressive win over Kakuryu 2 impressive wins over the remaining ozeki. The loss against Hakuho was admissible, the one against Goeido made Takakeisho look like a sanyaku beginner - and a promotion as premature. The NSK officials emphasize that they look for quality wins rather than numbers.

I wouldn't be surprised though if they again announce a demand for a win on day 15 also after 2 (not so impressive) wins the next 2 days.

[Tigerboy1966 1,626]

9 hours ago, Akōgyokuseki said:

As for Ikioi his condition, cellulitis, is exceptionally painful

Tell me about it. I went from, "oh that's a bit of a nasty rash" to "Lord please take me now" in the space of 12 hours. And then your skin starts peeling off like wet wallpaper. It's not a pleasant experience.

[Jakusotsu 6,390]

Any explanation why sumotori are prone to that kind of disease?

[neonbelly 226]

2 minutes ago, Jakusotsu said:

Any explanation why sumotori are prone to that kind of disease?

Any sport that involves bare skin and body contact with many different people (hello!) will create a lot of vectors for rashes and so forth. I've had ringworm on my face twice from wrestling, for example.

[Gurowake 4,151]

14 hours ago, robnplunder said:

Kotoshogiku and Ichinojo are biggest surprises in this basho.  

Maybe for you.  Toyonoshima doing poorly is a much bigger surprise to me.

http://pog.sumogames.jp/standings/player.php?pname=Gurowake&lang=en

Ok, I didn't think Kotoshogiku and Ichinojo to do *this* well, but they certain seemed most likely to.

Edited March 21, 2019 by Gurowake

[Amamaniac 2,091]

15 hours ago, Otokonoyama said:

Goeido doing the big toe dip in the wet clay in his corner. 

Meanwhile, over in his corner, Takakeisho had the yobidashi pour water for him to dip his toes as well!  It's officially a thing now.

[neonbelly 226]

Maybe it's just his facial chub but Ichinojo's a got a good scowl going in his matches.

[Kaninoyama 1,879]

15 hours ago, Apayasu said:

And - for me - Nishikigi. Somehow I expected him to continue his dominant sumo in March. Didn't happen, but I hope he'll grow to  a very successful rikishi. 

I expected him to be only a brief visitor to Makuuchi but he has continued to exceed my expectations and if quickly becoming a favorite. This time around, he lost against the joi ranked above him, but he fought gamely, so I expect him to learn from this basho and come back a better, stronger rikishi. I hope he continues to surprise.