Natsu basho 2019 discussions [SPOILERS]

[Eikokurai 3,437]

Just now, Akumazeki said:

Log into facebook and search for live stream of  adjarasport_dot_com and its  live stream. Every day they have a sumo live. It is in Georgian, but video is there.

If I could get into Facebook, I could get on YouTube. Alas, I'm behind the great firewall of China and without a VPN at home and lack the tech skills to get one without having a VPN already. Thanks though.

That said, perhaps I can find their stream somewhere else.

Edited May 21, 2019 by Eikokurai

[robnplunder 976]

8 minutes ago, Eikokurai said:

Glad to see Tochinoshin move within one of his return to Ozeki. I'd say it's as near to a certainty as can be that we'll have four Ozeki in July, barring an almighty collapse or injury.

Given how he has been performing, I don't see how he can lose to Abi tomorrow.  

A nice move by Goeido puts him one win away from KK.   He has been holding steady as an Ozeki for 6 basho.

 

[Yatagarasu 352]

On 19/05/2019 at 09:55, Eikokurai said:

I know they all do it and it's part of sport, but he's basically just admitted to purposely exploiting an opponent's injury. Honest, but not very nice.

Honestly, I think a henka would have done less damage to Takakeisho than risk engaging him and injuring him more.  Aoiyama would have caught a lot more flak for that.  As much as I despise henka, I think this was the most merciful way of dealing with a guy who shouldn't have been there.  To me, at least, Aoiyama actually going for the injured knee or forcing Takakeisho into a position where he would have been placing weight on it or twisting it would truly have been exploiting the injury in a nasty way.

[Akumazeki 28]

37 minutes ago, Eikokurai said:

If I could get into Facebook, I could get on YouTube. Alas, I'm behind the great firewall of China and without a VPN at home and lack the tech skills to get one without having a VPN already. Thanks though.

That said, perhaps I can find their stream somewhere else.

There is another Georgian site, which has live sports and sumo as well, www.live.ge , of course , if you can get that page.  But there everything is in Georgian. If you can get that page, I hope you will figure out where the live sumo is. Well as hint, here are two Georgian words written  live stream  - პირდაპირი  and sumo -  სუმო. May be this will help

[Amamaniac 2,079]

On 18/05/2019 at 16:31, autotroph said:

On 18/05/2019 at 08:11, Morty said:

I have been wondering why it has all those square marks on it and it is so beat up. Anyone got any ideas - some form of cupping or something else?

Anyone who's spent enough time at a bodybuilding gym knows what they are. Those marks are scar tissue from injecting (slang "pinning") PEDs. The glutes and inner thigh are popular sites for this. I presume those square plasters are covering some of the fresher ones.

There is a very good photo of a former Mr Olympia about to go on stage with a backside that looks identical to Tochinoshin's, but it's eluding me at the moment...

(For the record I have no problem with an informed consenting adult using PEDs, and I am not attacking Tochinoshin. There are many PEDs that do not require pinning, too.)

Murray Johnson weighed in on this issue today on NHK.  Here is his take:

"Yes, I don't know what's exactly wrong with his butt and shoulders, exactly why he's wearing all those elastoplasts.  Normally quite often it's just sores from going on jungyo getting slight infection from soil and sand.  That's all it is.  So rather than display them, they cover them up."

Frankly, I don't buy his explanation, as much as I'd like to.  Those checker-board patches have been on Tochinoshin's butt for several tournaments now.  If they were infections, they'd have cleared up by now, especially with a good course of antibiotics.  Have to say that I am leaning towards autotroph's explanation, especially considering that Tochinoshin is perhaps the most muscular-looking sekitori out there at the moment, with Ishiura a close second.  My only reservation is: why haven't I seen similar "plaster asses" before.  Tochi can't be the only sumo wrestler to resort to "pinning"...  And if there is a less obvious place on the body for pinning, why then didn't Tochinoshin choose that.

[Eikokurai 3,437]

39 minutes ago, Yatagarasu said:

Honestly, I think a henka would have done less damage to Takakeisho than risk engaging him and injuring him more.  Aoiyama would have caught a lot more flak for that.  As much as I despise henka, I think this was the most merciful way of dealing with a guy who shouldn't have been there.  To me, at least, Aoiyama actually going for the injured knee or forcing Takakeisho into a position where he would have been placing weight on it or twisting it would truly have been exploiting the injury in a nasty way.

I don’t think anyone would have blamed Aoiyama for engaging Takakeisho. I’m pretty sure most people would recognize it was the latter’s decision to put himself on the dohyo.

[Koorifuu 1,020]

3 hours ago, Eikokurai said:

Takagenji stays perfect and moves to 10-0. He has a three-bout lead in the yusho race with only five days to go, so could wrap it up quite early. Looking like a dead cert for the promotion.

Takanofuji will have a tough time defending the twins' streak (which is now 15-0) against up and coming Naya. We'll see. The other 5-0 matchup in makushita is also intriguing: a returning Chiyoarashi faces yorikiri machine Michael Maikeru who's making his debut in that division from 59e.

Nice to see Chiyomaru put that couple of leg hold losses to small guys behind his back with a straightforward power win. Also nice to see both Goeido and Takayasu live up to their ozeki status with hard earned wins against tough opponents.

Enho's inability to put Tochiozan in a bad place spells a bit of doom for everyone's new favorite rikishi. It seems there might be a ceiling for what he can do as rikishi become a bit too good at a certain point.

Lastly, Kotoeko has quietly put himself firmly in the yusho race after 10 days. One win behind the leading trio. Of course he's still more likely to slip than any of those three, but impressive stuff nonetheless.

Edited May 21, 2019 by Koorifuu

[Amamaniac 2,079]

1 hour ago, robnplunder said:

This just may have ended Tomokaze's KK streak.

While the "Piano Man" has only been in the Top Division for two tournaments, there seems to be a mirroring of performances between him and his senpai/stablemate Yoshikaze.  When Tomokaze debuted in the Makuuchi Division, both men had excellent records; it even seemed as though Yoshikaze was feeding off Tomokaze's success and vis-a-versa.  This tournament, Yoshikaze seems to be struggling (already on the verge of a MK), and Tomokaze is not doing much better.  Of course, that could simply mean that both wrestlers aren't up for the competition after being promoted up the banzuke.  But I wouldn't rule out the possibility that when one stablemate begins to struggle, it can affect the other's confidence.

[Koorifuu 1,020]

2 minutes ago, Amamaniac said:

While the "Piano Man" has only been in the Top Division for two tournaments, there seems to be a mirroring of performances between him and his senpai/stablemate Yoshikaze.  When Tomokaze debuted in the Makuuchi Division, both men had excellent records; it even seemed as though Yoshikaze was feeding off Tomokaze's success and vis-a-versa.  This tournament, Yoshikaze seems to be struggling (already on the verge of a MK), and Tomokaze is not doing much better.  Of course, that could simply mean that both wrestlers aren't up for the competition after being promoted up the banzuke.  But I wouldn't rule out the possibility that when one stablemate begins to struggle, it can affect the other's confidence.

I agree. I don't think Takayasu would have reached ozeki level if Kisenosato hadn't peaked as a newly promoted yokozona / perennial yusho contender at exactly the right time for him.

[Apayasu 16]

Today Takayasu took his painkillers, looked like he was alive. 

Good to see Tochinoshin back. Maybe the most powerful rikishi on the banzuke. 

[Taikoubana 144]

1 hour ago, Amamaniac said:

But I wouldn't rule out the possibility that when one stablemate begins to struggle, it can affect the other's confidence.

I don't have the source on me, but hasn't Yoshikaze said before that a win for Tomokaze is more important to him than a win for himself?

[Amamaniac 2,079]

11 minutes ago, Taikoubana said:

1 hour ago, Amamaniac said:

But I wouldn't rule out the possibility that when one stablemate begins to struggle, it can affect the other's confidence.

I don't have the source on me, but hasn't Yoshikaze said before that a win for Tomokaze is more important to him than a win for himself?

That sounds entirely possible.  So Yoshikaze should push himself to win in order to inspire newcomer Tomokaze to keep winning.

[since_94 650]

Endo went down without laying a hand on Aoiyama today. I do not understand his wild popularity with Japanese fans at all.

 

 

[Morty 1,505]

16 minutes ago, since_94 said:

Endo went down without laying a hand on Aoiyama today. I do not understand his wild popularity with Japanese fans at all.

 

 

He's really good looking. 

[Amamaniac 2,079]

18 minutes ago, Morty said:

35 minutes ago, since_94 said:

Endo went down without laying a hand on Aoiyama today. I do not understand his wild popularity with Japanese fans at all.

 

 

He's really good looking. 

And for some reason, fans like his cool demeanour.

[ryafuji 815]

And he never wears any tape or bandages - that's cool.

[Dapeng 236]

4 hours ago, Eikokurai said:

I don’t think anyone would have blamed Aoiyama for engaging Takakeisho. I’m pretty sure most people would recognize it was the latter’s decision to put himself on the dohyo.

There were more tricky situations for the healthy rikishi to deal with: the injured Takanohana vs healthy Musashimaru at a playoff bout; and the injured Kisenosato vs healthy Terunofuji on day 15 with yusho at hand. What would the audience / the whole nation respond if the healthy rikishi beat the injured Taka or Kise? Did they dare to win? 

[Akōgyokuseki 228]

1 hour ago, since_94 said:

Endo went down without laying a hand on Aoiyama today. I do not understand his wild popularity with Japanese fans at all.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Morty said:

He's really good looking. 

 

52 minutes ago, Amamaniac said:

And for some reason, fans like his cool demeanour.

And he's partial to the odd bowl of お茶漬け ochazuke

[Amamaniac 2,079]

3 minutes ago, Akōgyokuseki said:

1 hour ago, since_94 said:

Endo went down without laying a hand on Aoiyama today. I do not understand his wild popularity with Japanese fans at all.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Morty said:

He's really good looking. 

 

58 minutes ago, Amamaniac said:

And for some reason, fans like his cool demeanour.

And he's partial to the odd bowl of お茶漬け ochazuke

Would that have anything to do with his primary sponsor? 

[RabidJohn 1,855]

8 minutes ago, Dapeng said:

... the injured Kisenosato vs healthy Terunofuji on day 15 with yusho at hand.

Bad example. They were both injured.

[Dapeng 236]

10 minutes ago, RabidJohn said:

Bad example. They were both injured.

Almost every rikishi carries injury to some degree, the question is how healthy he is. As to Takanohana and Kise, they also had their own dilemmas: the yosho was at hand and they did not want to abandon. In both cases, the costs of that yusho were their careers. 

Anyway, it is bad practice for an apparently injured rikishi to mount the dohyo. Such practice should not be encouraged.

[Akōgyokuseki 228]

30 minutes ago, Amamaniac said:

Would that have anything to do with his primary sponsor? 

As always sir, I bow to you

[Shio-kago 180]

4 hours ago, since_94 said:

Endo went down without laying a hand on Aoiyama today. I do not understand his wild popularity with Japanese fans at all.

 

 

Endo was both an amateur champion, and a guy who shot up the pro ranks really fast. Those two things earn you a lot of fans. Japanese fans are very loyal, so once you've got 'em, you keep 'em. That accounts for most of it.

For myself-- I appreciate how Endo can be really smooth on the belt. Like-- Sanyaku mainstay kind of smooth. But he also looks like a total dog when backpedaling, which he does all the time, reminding me why every time he ranks up, he ranks right back down.

[Asojima 2,874]

3 minutes ago, Shio-kago said:

Endo was both an amateur champion, and a guy who shot up the pro ranks really fast. Those two things earn you a lot of fans. Japanese fans are very loyal, so once you've got 'em, you keep 'em. That accounts for most of it.

For myself-- I appreciate how Endo can be really smooth on the belt. Like-- Sanyaku mainstay kind of smooth. But he also looks like a total dog when backpedaling, which he does all the time, reminding me why every time he ranks up, he ranks right back down.

Endo made his mark using a very effective backpedal/sidestep/push from the side tactic.  It lost its effectiveness when his opponents learned not to over pursue his backpedal.  He still tries it (out of habit?), but its value is gone. He has not come up with an effective replacement.

[robnplunder 976]

4 hours ago, Morty said:

He's really good looking. 

That's what my wife says ....  and he's not obese looking so I assume 97.8% of women fans find Endo wildly sexy.  End of discussion.  

Edited May 21, 2019 by robnplunder