Aki 2024 discussion (results)

[Akinomaki 39,755]

Head shimpan Kokonoe about Tobizaru: "He was flying" (=dead body) o

- he didn't see that Kotozakura had already landed way before

[Kaninoyama 1,694]

18 minutes ago, Akinomaki said:

Head shimpan Kokonoe about Tobizaru: "He was flying" (=dead body) o

- he didn't see that Kotozakura had already landed way before

Well duh, it's right there in his name. 

[Rocks 1,807]

6 hours ago, Tsubame said:

Someone else posted this. It shows the back of Tobizarus foot in contact with the ground.

https://imgur.com/a/0Gcp61A

They never call this. I've seen Ura  jump at someone to push them out and the whole top of his foot drags. They don't call it. This may be in the rule book but IMO it's not in action.

[Yarimotsu 522]

8 hours ago, Bugman Re-Hatched said:

Guys who is 'future yokuzona material' out of the current makuuchi, is kotozakura one of those?

I'd say that once rikishi have shown they have the consistency to reach ozeki and the peak to win a yusho, then so long as they hold ozeki, yokozuna is never far away. Kotozakura still needs that yusho, but I'd trust his build to get it done eventually.

Onosato has his yusho and may soon have ozeki - I'd say he is the obvious pick.

Takerufuji is the next obvious answer to me. I don't have a 4th obvious candidate for yokozuna, but per my ozeki criteria Hoshoryu remains close.

[Oskanohana 227]

I'll add my name to the list of the outraged by the Kotonowakazakura decision.  I also need a tinfoil hat emoji, thank you.

Regarding Takakeisho, he cannot retire fast enough, but I'm biased as hell.

9 hours ago, Bugman Re-Hatched said:

Guys who is 'future yokuzona material' out of the current makuuchi, is kotozakura one of those?

We have yet to see a mongolian retiring as a career-high ozeki. Our current batch of Hoshoryu and Kiribayamashima are fighting hard to achieve it, but if Kakuryu and Terunofuji after falling to jonidan were able to make it to the top, I won't bet against either of the two.

Kotonowakazakura I still see as solid but not yokozuna material, but he's still somewhat improving. The emptiness at the top of the ladder is helping him make a good case for himself.

As far as Onosato and Takerufuji (who is in juryo only because of injury), we have yet to see if they have any other game than essentially bulldozing the opposition. Onosato is more tested and doesn't seem to need anything else but he's quite bigger. I'm more doubtful of Takerufuji's rope prospects because of that lack of size. Still, Takerufuji Kyushu makuuchi yusho.

I'll throw Atamifuji's name also. He's still quite young, has a solid yotsu game, but needs to unstuck himself or he'll start reminding me of the only japanese guy that was promoted to yokozuna this century, He-who-shall-not-be-named-nosato.

[Tigerboy1966 1,376]

The way things are shaking out in jonidan, we may be due for Enho vs Kenho, which would, at the very least, be a visually interesting matchup.

[dingo 1,159]

A bit late to the controversy, but I'll throw my hat in with everyone who doesn't understand the decision. Seemed a pretty clear loss for Kotozakura. As for any nepotism -- I don't suppose all five shimpan are related to Kotozakura... I'll rather believe Akinomaki's "special gift to retiring gyoji" explanation. 

[Akinomaki 39,755]

I thought we get a double promotion of Shishi to makuuchi and Aonishiki to juryo, but Aonishiki almost needs to win all out now to make it.

 

Inosuke and Shonosuke are alternating with the kaobure, Inosuke has a more reverberating voice, but he has still problems at the concluding phrase

[Tigerboy1966 1,376]

1 hour ago, Akinomaki said:

but Aonishiki almost needs to win all out now to make it.

It looks like 3 juryo spots will be opening up through injuries, and a few wrestlers at the lower end of the division have got off to poor starts: I'm guessing that 5-2 would do the trick.

[RabidJohn 1,663]

WTF was that from Hoshoryu at the tachi-ai? Well-deserved loss.

Tobizaru has come on so much since that rabbit-in-the-headlights first bout against Hakuho. He's not scared of anybody now.

Day 4 leaderboard looks nice. Three former winners and... is it fair to call Kotozakura a wannabe? Probably gonna be eventually, and this is as good an opportunity as any.

[dingo 1,159]

Day 4, let's see how makuuchi does today. 

Takarafuji played the role of the immovable wall, resisting every push from Kitanowaka until the wall was suddenly gone and Kitanowaka went down in his belly. 3-1 is a great start for Takarafuji and he looks to be in reasonably good shape to go for kachikoshi.

Onokatsu's adjustment period to makuuchi continues. Will he be able to push back and stay in maegashira ranks for the next basho?

Fellow makuuchi newcomer Shirokuma is doing slightly better than Onokatsu, getting his second win after weathering Hokutofuji's oshi. Whether that makes him more likely to stay in maegashira compared to Onokatsu is still too early to say. 

Takayasu's back unfortunately lasted only one bout longer than last basho. Unless something miraculously improves he's on the way to Juryo. Wonder if he's gonna attempt a comeback or is it time for a double-Taka intai announcement soon... 

I comparison Kinbozan is not exactly seem to be doing horribly, just worse than his opponents so far. Though on the lower half of makuuchi a 0-4 start is a bit ominous regarding the banzuke. 

Bushozan recovered well from yesterday's loss where he looked uncannily like a slapped down Takakeisho. Strong pushing nets him a third win and a bright outlook for the rest of the basho. 

No bright day unfortunately today for Sadanoumi who had a rather one sided loss to imposter Abi, I mean Ichiyamamoto. That means Sadanoumi drops from the yusho leaders list, which I suppose is not a big surprise. 

Neither of Roga and Oshoma don't seem to be in a good condition, so unsurprisingly today's bout between them was decided by a sidestep as Oshoma decided getting an easy win is better than risking a hard fought loss. 

Tamawashi again fell to dohyo trickery as Midorifuji managed to stay on the tawara just long enough for the win. Perhaps due to yesterday's the shimpan actually called a mono-ii today, though it was pretty clear cut. At least they'll feel nice and warm inside I guess. 

Whereas Tamawashi's bout perhaps didn't warrant a mono-ii, Ura vs Wakatakakage certainly did and the shimpan were on target again,noticing Ura stepping out before pulling down his opponent. The men in black are definitely on a roll today... 

Shonannoumi seems to be another rikishi who's not doing exactly terrible sumo but remains winless. I'm still confident he'll recover at some point and will get at least a few wins, though kachikoshi seems a challenge. 

Kotoshoho aka The Diddler had a spirited encounter with Meisei and emerged victorious. He seems to be in a pretty good shape this basho, sagari diddling notwithstanding. 

Wow, Shodai! Not only did he put good pressure on Wakamotoharu, he also did not give up in a disadvantageous position and pulled off a nice last moment reversal. 4-0 and in the leading pack seems a bit unbelievable coming from the king of underachieveing, but as mentioned a few days earlier he has that in him. 

Hiradoumi made the much bigger Oho look like his grandmother, pushing him out with ease. Hiradoumi's fire is burning strong and who knows where it'll take him. 

Kirishima is one basho late to having a great performance as he's putting in now. The ozeki rank is gone but perhaps not permanently as an injury free Kirishima is still able to beat most of makuuchi. 

Although Onosato clearly was stronger than Daieisho, the win was a bit too close for comfort as both of them fell down within a split second. Daieisho has lost half of his explosiveness somewhere, has he looked under the sofa? 

Abi used his mobility well against Takanosho who doesn't seem to be in the zone this basho. Abi will do well to remain sekiwake this basho, and seems that's his goal as well. 

Atamifuji did a weird backwards step and that was all Kotozakura needed to push him out like a cart on wheels. Easy win, especially considering how Hoshoryu lost against Atamifuji yesterday. 

Epic pulldown by Tobizaru, forcing usually well balanced Hoshoryu to touch the dohyo with his hand. Seems like this basho Hoshoryu is playing the part of the generous win-dispensing ozeki. But there doesn't seem to be much physically wrong with him so I hope he recovers. 

[Akinomaki 39,755]

Kokonoe also said that Tobizaru was outside the dohyo as Kotozakura touched down

oo o

o o

he wasn't, his right foot was still inside

o o 

and you can't say that Kotozakura was the aggressor, both kept applying techniques, also at the edge

o

Tobizaru had screamed "I was still in. What's that?" as he watched the replay at the hanamichi, and after the bath in the shitaku-beya: "I don't feel like I lost, but since I lost, there's nothing I can do. Honestly, I can't win there." o

[Adz_517 21]

43 minutes ago, Akinomaki said:

Kokonoe also said that Tobizaru was outside the dohyo as Kotozakura touched down

oo o

o o

he wasn't, his right foot was still inside

o o 

and you can't say that Kotozakura was the aggressor, both kept applying techniques, also at the edge

o

Tobizaru had screamed "I was still in. What's that?" as he watched the replay at the hanamichi, and after the bath in the shitaku-beya: "I don't feel like I lost, but since I lost, there's nothing I can do. Honestly, I can't win there." o

Anyone claiming dead body rule should see that last photo, clearly still well in the fight and executing a throw. 

[Dapeng 232]

1 hour ago, Adz_517 said:

Anyone claiming dead body rule should see that last photo, clearly still well in the fight and executing a throw. 

My understanding of the "dead body" is that the "dead body" is airborne but outside when the "living body" touched down but still inside. 

[Yamanashi 3,723]

2 hours ago, Dapeng said:

My understanding of the "dead body" is that the "dead body" is airborne but outside when the "living body" touched down but still inside. 

I used to get all mad about the "dead body" rule when I thought it was a rule which could be adjudicated based upon clear, unambiguous principles.  When I realized that it was a "thing" that they "say" when "stuff happens" and they want to "make a call", I stopped getting all mad.

[Benevolance 2,478]

*slips Yamanashi his $20*

That's right. Nothing to see here. There is no controversy but the controversy itself. 

[Reonito 1,335]

11 hours ago, Tigerboy1966 said:

It looks like 3 juryo spots will be opening up through injuries, and a few wrestlers at the lower end of the division have got off to poor starts: I'm guessing that 5-2 would do the trick.

Looks like Kaisho should be his next opponent on day 6...

[Benevolance 2,478]

Hiradoumi vs Oho was probably my favorite match of day 4. Hiradoumi got under and up so quick off the start and then that semi-toss once Oho lost his balance. Beautiful. Kind of a shame that Kotozakura already has this tournament in the bank. 

[Kaninoyama 1,694]

Hiradoumi & Churanoumi are two large bodies of saltwater that have continued to impress. The former holding his own at sanyaku while the latter is sneaky good. 

Edited September 12 by Kaninoyama

[Asashosakari 18,783]

Former juryo Asanowaka just ended a 10-bout losing streak.

[Jakusotsu 5,806]

4 hours ago, Kaninoyama said:

Hiradoumi & Churanoumi are two large bodies of saltwater that have continued to impress. The former holding his own at sanyaku while the latter is sneaky good. 

The shrew and the mole.

[Kaninoyama 1,694]

Kotozakura took his foot off the gas with victory in hand not once but twice and then ran out of gas himself. That could end up costing him the basho. 

[RabidJohn 1,663]

Couple of unexpected outcomes today, eh?

I'm going to take a winning performance in a reasonably titanic bout against Kotozakura as further evidence of Oho's progression.

But the one that stood out to me was Tamawashi vs Endo. Endo's usually infallible maemitsu grip did not work! Tamawashi looked for all the world like he's been studying Ura with that back foot feeling for the tawara before breaking the grip and mounting his successful counter-attack. Wow!

---

Onosato appears to be immensely popular, judging by the banners and towels being waved.
Are they still sujo if they're ladies of a slightly more mature demographic? Do rikishi receive cougar-awareness training?
I know I'd have found the situation intoxicatingly tempting when I was his age...

[dingo 1,159]

Takayasu is trying his best not to faal down juryo. It was visible in today's bout that he by no means doing well, yet we'll enough to make his experience count over Shirokuma. I'm still a bit concerned if he'll last until he end of the basho. At least 5 days to go until kachikoshi... 

Ryuden being solid on the mawashi is not a surprise, but today's win came relatively easily. If he can continue that form he can look forward to a nice kachikoshi. 

Takarafuji vs Nishikigi was the prime example of veteran sumo -- slow, careful, deliberate. Funny to hear Murray Johnson commenting how the two of them got away "racing" whereas on the screen Takarafuji took a small step forward while Nishikigi was clinging to him and standing still.  Racing indeed. 

Onokatsu finding the makuuchi landing still hard with a loss to so-so Hokutofuji. The trajectory is back towards juryo, but I have a feeling he'll bounce back with a vengeance. 

Bushozan has found his groove and while not as spectacular as body double Takakeisho, at least he's still in the basho and racking up wins. 

In a match of the less in-form rikishi, Kinbozan finally got his first win of the basho. Again, his sumo is not as bad as the 1-4 score suggests so perhaps he'll do a bit better after tasting victory. 

The slapdown competition between Sadanoumi and Oshoma ended with Oshoma making the better pulling move. Despite his bigger body size he's quite good at it too, though with his body should really do more forward moving sumo and not try to claim Chiyoshoma's mantle. 

Roga managed to survive Ichiyamamoto's thrusts and finally got a mawashi hold to yori his opponent out. Decent sumo by Roga and a necessary win for him to avoid getting a 4th loss this early. 

Tamawashi shows he's not to be discounted yet, as he nicely breaks Endo's grip and thrusts him out. Though I think Endo really should've won it and will rue an easy loss. 

Midorifuji was too fast for Churanoumi, starting with a Harumafuji special at the tachiai and maneuvering well to get behind his opponent. Well planned and executed. 

Wakatakakage was not exactly at his best today as he didn't manage to push out Shonannoumi but a pulldown was enough to get the win. Looks like it's going to be a long basho for Shonannoumi. Wonder if he's injured somewhere. 

Ura showed off his excellent balance and dohyo awareness with an amazing foot turn on the tawara to stay inside and let Meisei fall down first. Poor Meisei must've thought he'd won that one but he has to try again tomorrow to get his second win of the basho. 

Kotoshoho apparently paid good attention to Ura' bout as he also survived Gonoyama's pushing and remained in while Gonoyama went down flat on his belly. Maybe playing with the sagari helps Kotoshoho to focus? 

Tobizaru got a strong pull on Wakamotoharu's left arm but couldn't unbalance him enough and fell victim to a strong push. I got the impression that Tobizaru didn't really think his approach through too much beyond the pull and lost because of that. 

Shodai has to be pretty pissed at himself as he blew a perfect opportunity to be in the 5-0 leading group. How he fell to Daieisho's last moment pull is a mystery, especially as Shodai used to do these kind of last moment escapes quite often himself. 

Really confusing, aimless sumo from Abi. A side jump, pulling, pushing, what was he going to do against Atamifuji I suspect even Abi himself doesn't know. Third loss and tomorrow he has to regroup if he wants to remain sekiwake. 

Excellent sumo by Hiradoumi, looking more ozeki like than the ex-ozeki Kirishima himself. Especially considering Kirishima was doing really well the first for days and Hiradoumi gave him a fairly decisive loss. 

Onosato despite his still suspect upright tachiai this time managed to get into position to exert his power and push Takanosho. Five wins in a row is a solid step towards his goal of 12, now let's see what happens when he gets closer to the magic number and pressure starts building as he's leading the yusho race. 

Mitakeumi is sadly absolutely useless at his maegashira 3 rank. Except for his one win, I haven't seen him doing any competitive sumo against his opponents so far. Basically almost anyone who faces him this basho is getting a freebie and Hoshoryu happily collected his. 

Wow, *this* Oho decided to show up today! Excellent tachiai and stamina to keep up with Kotozakura and after a lengthier than usual bout yori him out on the mawashi no less! I think Kotozakura took Oho a bit lightly and paid for it. 

Exciting end to Day 5, let's see how long Onosato can hold the lead. 

[Yarimotsu 522]

16 hours ago, Kaninoyama said:

Kotozakura took his foot off the gas with victory in hand not once but twice and then ran out of gas himself. That could end up costing him the basho. 

I was going to say that was the Kotozakura I expected heading into this basho. When someone starts talking about back issues, that kind of non-committal sumo is exactly what I expect.

Oho did everything he could to throw away the bout given that start, but eventually clued in that grabbing the belt was necessary.