Natsu basho 2021

[Jakusotsu 5,813]

12 minutes ago, Old Shatterhand is dead said:

just a question, suppose the May basho is decided by a play off between Takakeisho and Terunofuji and in July the two of them again decide the tournament by a play off, but both of them win only one of the two play offs, then in September there will be two yokozuna?

Nice idea. I would have bet every steak in Moti's fridge that it never happened before, but there you have it:
http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&rowcount=5&group_expand=on&group_by=basho&having=2&form1_rank=m,k,s,o&form2_rank=y

 

[Old Shatterhand is dead 29]

18 minutes ago, Jakusotsu said:

Nice idea. I would have bet every steak in Moti's fridge that it never happened before, but there you have it:
http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&rowcount=5&group_expand=on&group_by=basho&having=2&form1_rank=m,k,s,o&form2_rank=y

 

I never thought it had happened once, but four times? In any case, it's been a long time since the last time.

[Seiyashi 4,071]

18 minutes ago, Old Shatterhand is dead said:

38 minutes ago, Jakusotsu said:

Nice idea. I would have bet every steak in Moti's fridge that it never happened before, but there you have it:
http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&rowcount=5&group_expand=on&group_by=basho&having=2&form1_rank=m,k,s,o&form2_rank=y

 

I never thought it had happened once, but four times? In any case, it's been a long time since the last time.

It used to be awfully common immediately in the aftermath of postwar sumo, if you read back through each yokozuna's entry on Wikipedia. And usually they gave rise to good rivalries too. 

[WAKATAKE 2,631]

Not sure which one but one of the yokozuna insisted that their rival be promoted

[Seiyashi 4,071]

3 minutes ago, WAKATAKE said:

Not sure which one but one of the yokozuna insisted that their rival be promoted

Hitachiyama.

[Amamaniac 2,078]

Let's say that Terunofuji becoming the next Yokozuna is a given.  Perhaps there will be another from among the current Top Division crowd.  

But I'm going to hazard a wild guess and say that the next great Yokozuna rivalry will be Hokuseiho and Shishi!  But it will be a few years at the very least before we get treated to that battle of the giants.

[orandashoho 720]

8 minutes ago, Amamaniac said:

Hokuseiho and Shishi!

Oh wow, yes. 

[Kotogouryuu 126]

A hype bandwagon? Awww shit, here we go again.

[Kashunowaka 300]

 

2 hours ago, Jakusotsu said:

Nice idea. I would have bet every steak in Moti's fridge that it never happened before, but there you have it:
http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&rowcount=5&group_expand=on&group_by=basho&having=2&form1_rank=m,k,s,o&form2_rank=y

 

And if you include the preceding basho, you'll see that none of those cases would have become a double promotion today:

http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&columns=3&rowcount=5&group_expand=on&group_by=basho&having=2&form1_basho_nr=2&form1_rank=m,k,s,o&form2_basho_nr=3&form2_rank=y

[lackmaker 432]

35 minutes ago, Kotogouryuu said:

A hype bandwagon? Awww shit, here we go again.

Of course. Whether it's injuries, promotions, dubious decisions, etc. it's important to have an opinion. 

[Gooner 39]

The Ozeki are still not facing each other on day 13. This means one Ozeki won't face the other 2 because it's impossible to plan the 3 bouts on 2 days... why?

[Seiyashi 4,071]

17 minutes ago, Gooner said:

The Ozeki are still not facing each other on day 13. This means one Ozeki won't face the other 2 because it's impossible to plan the 3 bouts on 2 days... why?

Because Shodai is so far behind that there's no point matching him with the other two. If Asanoyama had still been in the basho then there would have been a reason to start intra-ozeki bouts on day 13, but with Asanoyama out of the basho and Shodai out of the yusho race, the schedulers not unjustifably thought there would be little point in throwing Shodai before the two leaders when you could sort out the hiramaku chasers instead. 

Edited May 20, 2021 by Seiyashi

[Katooshu 3,135]

2 hours ago, Amamaniac said:

Let's say that Terunofuji becoming the next Yokozuna is a given.  Perhaps there will be another from among the current Top Division crowd.  

But I'm going to hazard a wild guess and say that the next great Yokozuna rivalry will be Hokuseiho and Shishi!  But it will be a few years at the very least before we get treated to that battle of the giants.

They had quite the battle in jonidan

I thought Shishi looked pretty mediocre when he started, but he's kept trucking along and has surprised me a bit with his success as he's moved up the ranks. Though Hokuseiho, 4-5 years younger and already on the verge of sekitorihood, looks to be at another level as far as potential goes.

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by Katooshu

[Masunofuji 36]

43 minutes ago, Gooner said:

The Ozeki are still not facing each other on day 13. This means one Ozeki won't face the other 2 because it's impossible to plan the 3 bouts on 2 days... why?

Because Shodai is kadoban.

[Sakura 1,472]

1 hour ago, Gooner said:

The Ozeki are still not facing each other on day 13. This means one Ozeki won't face the other 2 because it's impossible to plan the 3 bouts on 2 days... why?

It is true that Shodai is kadoban and not in good form, but he had 6 wins when the torikumi was made and so was still a good candidate for an opponent for Takakeisho and Terunofuji. However, with Asanoyama self-imploding his career and Hakuho's imminent retirement the NSK could end up with just two Ozeki if Shodai failed to clear kadoban and there were no Yokozuna to take on the role of Yokozuna-Ozeki. This could be problematic if one of the two had to drop out of Ozeki (due to injury, say). 

The banzue has to have at least two Ozeki (Yokozuna are included in that number), so if Takakeisho or Terunofuji dropped out, leaving just one Ozeki they'd have to promote someone who might not be worthy of the rank. By feeding Shodai easier opponents, they can give themselves a cushion.

[Yamanashi 3,724]

5 hours ago, Jakusotsu said:

Nice idea. I would have bet every steak in Moti's fridge that it never happened before, but there you have it:
http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&rowcount=5&group_expand=on&group_by=basho&having=2&form1_rank=m,k,s,o&form2_rank=y

 

My God! Looking through the db, 1970 must have been a helluva year.  Kitanofuji and Tamanoumi just shouldered the other two Ozeki aside and pushed Taiho off the mountain.  It really puts into sharp relief what a tragedy Tamanoumi's death was.

[Gaijingai 1,527]

Hiro Morita Video On the Yusho Race After Day 12

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20210520213248782/

 

[Gurowake 3,915]

The only thing that makes sense for not having an Ozeki match on Day 13 was that they were very afraid of both Endo and Ichinojo being in the race, not being too low ranked, but not having enough matches against the top-ranked.  If they pursue all the Ozeki matches, they only get 2 matches of the leaders against those two, presumably both against Endo.  They may also be trying to make sure Shodai remains Ozeki, but that seems like a weak excuse for skipping highlight matches of the tournament.  I suppose in that case, with the torikumi made before Shodai gets a chance at his 8th win, they schedule no Ozeki matches again Day 14, and Takakeisho takes on like Hidenoumi, Takarafuji, or maybe Okinoumi.  I see it as a pretty awful idea though that they help Shodai out to his 8th win by giving him weak opponents, but they've clearly have done that before with Tochinoshin by giving him Kyokutenho's last bout.

[Thorbjarn 214]

Takakeisho looked like the meanest bully today. I dislike his Sumo, but his career is pretty respectable, even at Ozeki. Terunofuji looks like he has hit that stride that can carry you to Yokozuna, but he would need a Yusho equivalent in Nagoya aswell I assume. 

[Sakura 1,472]

1 hour ago, Gurowake said:

The only thing that makes sense for not having an Ozeki match on Day 13 was that they were very afraid of both Endo and Ichinojo being in the race, not being too low ranked, but not having enough matches against the top-ranked.  If they pursue all the Ozeki matches, they only get 2 matches of the leaders against those two, presumably both against Endo.  They may also be trying to make sure Shodai remains Ozeki, but that seems like a weak excuse for skipping highlight matches of the tournament.  I suppose in that case, with the torikumi made before Shodai gets a chance at his 8th win, they schedule no Ozeki matches again Day 14, and Takakeisho takes on like Hidenoumi, Takarafuji, or maybe Okinoumi.  I see it as a pretty awful idea though that they help Shodai out to his 8th win by giving him weak opponents, but they've clearly have done that before with Tochinoshin by giving him Kyokutenho's last bout.

I can see them worrying about Endo, only one win behind, but Ichinojo was two behind when the torikumi was announced. Okinoumi was also two behind, but they gave him Shimanoumi instead of someone like Takayasu. 

[Godango 956]

Eh, at least Shodai seems to be of decent social character. Good for him catching a break, there really are no 'easy' matches, after all.

[robnplunder 974]

3 hours ago, Thorbjarn said:

Takakeisho looked like the meanest bully today. 

He always looks like that IMO.  His facial expression is always one of arrogance.   It goes well with his sumo style.   I disliked him from the start but he is growing on me.   

[Eikokurai 3,433]

17 minutes ago, robnplunder said:

He always looks like that IMO.  His facial expression is always one of arrogance.   It goes well with his sumo style.   I disliked him from the start but he is growing on me.   

I’m not a big fan of his sumo style but I’m liking him as a foil for Terunofuji. Sometimes a rikishi needs a rivalry for context to make you support them.

[Koorifuu 886]

8 hours ago, Kashunowaka said:

 

And if you include the preceding basho, you'll see that none of those cases would have become a double promotion today:

http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query.aspx?show_form=0&columns=3&rowcount=5&group_expand=on&group_by=basho&having=2&form1_basho_nr=2&form1_rank=m,k,s,o&form2_basho_nr=3&form2_rank=y

It's always been pretty clear who's the main character and who's the foil in these situations.

[Kaninoyama 1,694]

2 hours ago, robnplunder said:

He always looks like that IMO.  His facial expression is always one of arrogance.   It goes well with his sumo style.   I disliked him from the start but he is growing on me.   

That's his game face. Away from the dohyo he is perfectly normal, with a sense of humor and the ability to poke fun at himself.