Bunbukuchagama 922 Posted May 23 18 minutes ago, Kaninoyama said: A red mawashi to Midorifuji is like kryptonite to superman. Or like a random week 1 Maegashira to Hoshoryu. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ack! 494 Posted May 23 10 hours ago, Andreas21 said: This is the trouble for those hopefuls which do too well in the first 9 days. They got too (often far too) strong opposition. Those under the radar (like Onokatsu this time) fare much better. Has M17w tomorrow and may cruise to an 11-4 with very modest opponents. Which means he is a very good candidate for komusubi , assuming WTK gets his promotion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Reonito 1,747 Posted May 23 26 minutes ago, Ack! said: Which means he is a very good candidate for komusubi , assuming WTK gets his promotion. At 11-4, he'd have a decent shot even if there's only one opening: WMH would have to lose once, Abi once or twice, and Oshoma once. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bunbukuchagama 922 Posted May 23 5 minutes ago, Reonito said: At 11-4, he'd have a decent shot even if there's only one opening: WMH would have to lose once, Abi once or twice, and Oshoma once. I hope he would at least get a date with Kirishima on senshuraku. Getting to sanyaku after a schedule with 0 sanyaku opponents would feel rather... cheap. His highest-ranked opponent so far was Ura. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Morty 1,517 Posted May 24 7 hours ago, Gospodin said: It is safe to say that Kisenosato was better than the then crop of of Yokozuna, the otherworldly Hakuho being the exception. He was also remarkably injury-free until he fell so unlucky and denied surgery. I do not see why Kisenosato could not have been a fine Yokozuna for three to four years to come, with Hak and the other getting kyujo ever more. Consolation prize ? No, definitely not. I preface this by saying that I have a long history on this forum of defending Kise and arguing for his greatness. But, I can also say he wasn't just blocked for a long time by Hakuho, he was also blocked by Harumafuji, who had a winning record against Kise (38-24), and also is the only rikishi to have a better head to head record against Hak as Yokozuna than Kise did. He also only left sumo at the end of 2017 because he used a video game controller for something other than what it was designed for. Kise and Harumfuji both ended their careers too early - if they had both had the chance to keep going for another few years they would have continued that competition, which would have been fun to watch. I'll happily accept that Kise was better than Kakuryu, and he was head and shoulders above the various other long term Ozeki that cycled through that rank during the Reign of Terror. But he was at best, only as good as Harumafuji in sumo skill, and Harumafuji had something Kise never had - the mental fortitude and killer instinct to make the most of his talent. But I fundamentally agree that Kise's Yok status definitely wasn't a consolation prize. He was doing Yokozuna sumo for years before he got the rope, the only thing holding him back was lack of yusho. He fundamentally deserved the rope when he finally got it. 9 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jakusotsu 6,320 Posted May 24 I really don't see what's there to like about Tohakuryu's "sumo"... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tigerboy1966 1,615 Posted May 24 Watching Takarafuji in juryo this time has been a sad experience. He is getting overpowered by guys who wouldn't have moved him back an inch when he was in his prime. Does he want to keep going from the scruffy end of juryo street in July? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaninoyama 1,877 Posted May 24 (edited) Is it just my imagination or does ex-Aminishiki suddenly have a LOT more hair than he had as an active rikishi? Edited May 24 by Kaninoyama Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bunbukuchagama 922 Posted May 24 (edited) 56 minutes ago, Jakusotsu said: I really don't see what's there to like about Tohakuryu's "sumo"... Every style has the right to exist. It he is so predictable, why don't his aite beat him all the time? Edited May 24 by Bunbukuchagama Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bunbukuchagama 922 Posted May 24 Pudding got eaten. Too bad Aonishiki isn't getting a sansho this time around. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaninoyama 1,877 Posted May 24 9 hours ago, Kaninoyama said: It's worth noting that he's won 4 out of 5 since abandoning the red mawashi in favor of the one that matches his name. A red mawashi to Midorifuji is like kryptonite to superman. Make it 5 in a row. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Katooshu 3,464 Posted May 24 1 hour ago, Bunbukuchagama said: Pudding got eaten. Too bad Aonishiki isn't getting a sansho this time around. Why not? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bunbukuchagama 922 Posted May 24 1 minute ago, Katooshu said: Why not? What would be the reason? He is (probably) not getting a JY, he hasn't beaten the Yokozuna or the yusho winner... 11 wins(if he gets them) is not a good enough reason... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akinomaki 41,570 Posted May 24 24 minutes ago, Bunbukuchagama said: What would be the reason? He is (probably) not getting a JY, he hasn't beaten the Yokozuna or the yusho winner... 11 wins(if he gets them) is not a good enough reason... All of that is not needed for the gino-sho - if he gets the majority of votes from the media guys in the sansho committee is another question. 11 wins and being in the yusho hunt in the 2nd week is good enough for a kanto-sho, his losses in the 2nd week are all against sanyaku opponents, with his first matchup against an ozeki. Kirishima was robbed of the shukun-sho chance by the torikumi makers - they took care that Onosato could avoid the best sekiwake in favour of a mediocre mid maegashira bout - likely no shukun-sho this basho, the win against the yokozuna while both were in the yusho hunt is hardly enough for that. It may come up in the discussion though. I guess he gets a sansho, the gino-sho could more likely go to him than Aonishiki, but also still in jY position Wakatakakage could get it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RabidJohn 2,010 Posted May 24 2 hours ago, Kaninoyama said: Is it just my imagination or does ex-Aminishiki suddenly have a LOT more hair than he had as an active rikishi? I am truly flabbergasted that you have only just noticed! It has been noted and discussed hereabouts for what feels like ages - 2-3yrs, I think. Moto-Chiyonokuni has been noticeably inconspicuous of late, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him reappear freshly thatched, and moto-Hokutofuji is a prime candidate, too. --- Sadanoumi wasn't messing about today, was he? Has Asakoryu inherited the 'dangerous little fella' mantle from Midorifuji? Can Onosato truly emulate Wajima and seal the deal with a zensho? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kotogouryuu 143 Posted May 24 11 hours ago, Morty said: But he was at best, only as good as Harumafuji in sumo skill, and Harumafuji had something Kise never had - the mental fortitude and killer instinct to make the most of his talent. I general I'm not in favor of armchair psychologist, making guesses about the mental state of people they see glimpses of on TV. But when it comes to Kisenosato, I think the case is quite well founded. He was so superior early in bashos, and then time and time again would lose matches he should have just walked over. And then interrupt Hakuho's winning streaks. Man, those Hakuho-Kisenosato matches sure were something. I hope Onosato will find himself a rival like that. I am truly glad Kisenosato got the rope, even if his reign was cut way too short. He is retired as a former yokozuna, a title which is rightfully his. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dingo 1,454 Posted May 24 (edited) Oh, Nishikigi. After starting 5-0, he's managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and as a special reward puts himself even on the edge of dropping to juryo if he loses another. Just how he's ended up like that is a mystery. Nishikigi doesn't even have to look too far to see an example of successful veteran rikishi as Sadanoumi has wrestled a wonderful second half of the basho and ends up with double digits a day early. Emphatic kotenage on Kotoshoho today. Respect to the "old" man. Wonderful double digit result by Asakoryu. Hope his great basho was not just a one off but that he can take this form to future bashos as well. After losing to Ura, Tamawashi's face said something like "Oh the kids these days...". But even with a makekoshi it hasn't been a terrible basho for him and he looks ready to bounce back next time at a lower rank. Oho finally showed another piece of his power and skill by lifting Takerufuji around himself, to the tawara and pushing him out. Don't know what happened between the first three days and today but he'll have time to regroup for next basho. Onosato won fairly comfortably, crushing Daieisho's ozeki dreams even further. Daieisho needs to win his last bout to make 10 wins, and really gambarize next basho to do better and have even a glimmer of ozeki hope. Though it looks like he is more likely to peak as a strong sekiwake. Kotozakura did his ozeki job and offered decent resistance to the yokozuna, in any case more than could yesterday. He's seen his two ozeki rivals suddenly surpass him but I'm sure his ambition to make yokozuna remains. The 14-win yusho last year will give him hope that he can match everyone in makuuchi, but at 27 years old he won't have too much time to make it happen. Edited May 24 by dingo 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yamanashi 4,040 Posted May 24 8 hours ago, Kaninoyama said: Is it just my imagination or does ex-Aminishiki suddenly have a LOT more hair than he had as an active rikishi? Dansei-yō hea kurabu 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dapeng 236 Posted May 24 1 hour ago, dingo said: Kotozakura did his ozeki job and offered decent resistance to the yokozuna, in any case more than could yesterday. He's seen his two ozeki rivals suddenly surpass him but I'm sure his ambition to make yokozuna remains. The 14-win yusho last year will give him hope that he can match everyone in makuuchi, but at 27 years old he won't have too much time to make it happen With two yokozuna on board esp one of them being native Japanese, the NSK won't have enough motivation to promote him, not to say that he's unlikely to break through the two layers of yokozuna walls in front of him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dapeng 236 Posted May 24 From now on the yushos will be mostly grabbed by the top two and we won't see 12-win yusho as often as in the recent 3-4 years, not to say hiramaku yusho. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dapeng 236 Posted May 24 4 hours ago, Kotogouryuu said: I general I'm not in favor of armchair psychologist, making guesses about the mental state of people they see glimpses of on TV. But when it comes to Kisenosato, I think the case is quite well founded. He was so superior early in bashos, and then time and time again would lose matches he should have just walked over. And then interrupt Hakuho's winning streaks. Man, those Hakuho-Kisenosato matches sure were something. I hope Onosato will find himself a rival like that. I am truly glad Kisenosato got the rope, even if his reign was cut way too short. He is retired as a former yokozuna, a title which is rightfully his. Kisenosato fought Hakuho 60 times to win 16, 26.7%, on the other hand, Harumafuji fought Hakuho 57 times to win 21, 36.8%. Kisenosato deserved the rope, but a weaker yokozuna than Harumafuji, not to say that his direct collision with Harumafuji was 24:37. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WAKATAKE 2,758 Posted May 24 It's not unprecedented for former ozeki to win sansho. Kirishima himself got the kanto-sho in January, although they didn't give him anything when he took a 12-3 jun-yusho in September last year. Takayasu has won four prizes post ozeki tenure, they have all been when he got the minimum of the jun-yusho or in playoffs. Terunofuji was, well...Terunofuji. Mitakeumi and Asanoyama have not won prizes in their post ozeki careers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bunbukuchagama 922 Posted May 24 1 hour ago, Dapeng said: From now on the yushos will be mostly grabbed by the top two Top one, you wanted to say. Hoshoryu wins one yusho a year on average. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RabidJohn 2,010 Posted May 24 2 hours ago, Bunbukuchagama said: Hoshoryu wins one yusho a year on average. It's worse than that, Jim. Only one every 18 months. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bunbukuchagama 922 Posted May 24 Just now, RabidJohn said: It's worse than that, Jim. Only one every 18 months. I was feeling generous. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
