Pak

I have access to some online journals, so if you see a reference, perhaps I can get a copy. I have the one you mention, but Kofuji already has that for you :) PM me if you have some specific journal/article you wish to see, and I can check if I can get a copy. Regards, Pak

It's good to see Sakeizawa promoted back up from makushita. I remember that match with Kakizoe in March, with him collapsing backwards right after the tachi-ai. I hope his knee can hold out for him in juryo. Regards, Pak

That shows how alert I am, I only noticed Kakuryu :/ Regards, Pak (Wearing a paperbag...)

I just started tinkering with my guess. All I have 'set' so far are the sanyaku ranks, which are in sync with yours, but I am continuously reworking the maegashira, especially upper. My guesses have some insane promotion levels for 8-7s and some gentler demotions than normal. One question: did you intentionally leave Kakuryu at the same rank as in Aki even with his 7-8? Regards, Pak

Thanks for the pictures. It looks as if the Mongolian lads had fun, even if some did seem to be uncomfortable in their mawashi :) And that expression on Kokkai's face (Struck by lightning...) I noticed on several of the pictures of the day's bouts that some of the rikishi had their fingers partially taped/tied together. Is this to help keep the fingers from hyperextending/bending wrong, or perhaps nagging injuries? Regards, Pak

I was rather hoping Kotomistsuki and Ama would win, so that the yusho could be decided on the last day, perhaps with a playoff if Kotomitsuki happened to best Hakuho. Ah well, for the victors of those matches, I was glad to Kaio get another win and would like to see him end up with 10-5 this basho. I was worried about Goeido after he got smashed by Kaio (ouch!) , but thankfully he seems to be fine. I'll keep my fingers crossed for Baruto for his eighth win tonight. I know the first week at komusubi is always rough, but I didn't think he would be able to pull himself out from underneath a 2-7 record. Go, Baruto! If he wins, could he possibly slip up into sekiwake with Toyonoshima dropping down in rank? Regards, Pak

Doitsuyama, You update your database fast, and I owe you a beer if ever we meet. I usually can catch the live stream of the final makuuchi matches just before I have to leave for work, but this morning the stream was hiccuping badly and I had minutes of still frames and in and out audio. I was particularly interested in the Kaio/Goeido match, and I was staring at a frozen picture of the gyoji from the previous match and no audio, so I couldn't even hear the audio announcing the winner. Arrrrgh! On a whim, I checked the database and you had the result already posted on the banzuke on the front page. Yessss!!!! I could go to work without wondering all day who won, lol. Arigatou, arigatou gozaimasu!!!! Edit: Adding some thoughts .... For some reason, Day 12 has always been a day that focuses my interests in a tournament. By then, the top yusho contenders are already decided and a few winning or losing records for the tournament already established. Yet for most, the real struggle for that eighth win or avoiding that eighth loss, sanyaku promotions/demotions hanging in the balance -- and I find myself following the last few days with much more intensity. While I am of course interested in the competition for the Emperor's Cup, I find myself more focused on whether or not a wrestler will manage to avoid that make-koshi for one more day, or get that treasured eighth win. Will Kokkai and Kakizoe be able to breathe a sigh of relief at securing 8 wins at the bottom rung of makuuchi? Can Baruto cling on to his sanyaku rank? With Kotoshogiku pull off the remaining three wins he needs to get back into sanyaku? Etc., etc. I will have to get up early tomorrow to catch more matches than usual, and hope for a good connection to the live stream server :) Regards, Pak

Hopefully this will give his elbow a chance to heal and train so he will be in good form next basho. Regards, Pak

I finally got this book. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, as we have a number of houseguests here because of that !@#$ hurricane and I put it up so it would not get misplaced or damaged. I did flip through it and look at the pictures, and as Babaryutaikai and Jonosuke mentioned, the photographs are well-done and nothing that I could see should cause any uproar. The only pictures that gave me pause as to the reason for their inclusion were some of the ones obviously meant to be artistic -- such as a full page photo of sweaty skin. There are only a few of those, and someone with a better appreciation of such things might enjoy them more. It's a beautiful book, and I'm looking forward to when things get back to normal so I can read it. Regards, Pak

Not sure how the B Sample not getting tested was NSK's screwup. The B samples were at the lab to be tested, but the brothers waived their right to have them tested; it was not the NSK's decision, it was theirs. Regards, Pak

He'll be working closely with the new appointees and would probably like to submit his own list of names for the positions. It is going to be a big change for the kyokai, and Musashigawa should select men that would work well with his style of leadership. Regards, Pak

Check to see if cookies are enabled. I think on IE7 it is under Tools/Internet Options/Privacy/Advanced. Regards, Pak

He decided to go the manga route, and got a subscription to a couple of the monthy manga magazines and is going to explore getting some of the other titles suggested here. I'm looking at the novels for myself now -- I could use some fresh reading material besides Sumo magazine, lol. Mark, is this one of those series books you were talking about? Regards, Pak

Three basho -- would they keep their ranking in the banzuke, or demoted as if 0-0-15 for those tournaments? Quite a plummet in ranking if so.

Its now some years that I have the feeling that as long as people write something about KaioU retiring he'll continue and defy retirement. ;) I am glad Kaio did not retire. I have only been back watching sumo this year, and he has become one of my favourites. In the unlikely event he wins another yusho, I would certainly be happy for him. In the meantime, I'll enjoy watching his bouts. Now I will have to explore the sumo reference and see if I could determine who is the oldest man to win a yusho... I know Asashoryu is still dealing with the injury to his elbow, but I had not heard of anything amiss with Hakuho. I recall reading something about his being tired from all the travel for the summer jungyo, but surely he has recovered from that? Regards, Pak

Thank you all, and those who replied via PM, for taking the time to answer my question. The manga and the short stories are excellent suggestions, and if the series Mark is talking about has the featured person's name in the titles, I should be able to look them up. I would enjoy reading those myself anyway, I enjoy the historical tales :) Regards, Pak

I think the "we, Japanese" was meant to reflect that Kitanoumi, as chairman of the association for Japan's national sport, wants to reject standard drug testing procedures. I wondered when I read Kitanoumi's remarks if he realized some people would interpret it this way, thinking of sumo as representative of Japan, regardless of his reasoning for saying such things in the first place. I understand from my recent surfing that WADA procedures are very strict, including maintaining the integrity of the sample, using control numbers and not the athlete's name, and the test procedures themselves. However, I don't know if the initial testing followed these procedures. I recall reading in an earlier posts that the samples were identified by a number, not a name, yet here is the lawyer saying something about a name on a cup. I'm confused, but that may be what the lawyer is trying to do, confuse things :/ Otokonoyama questioned earlier in this thread if a clear chain of custody was established for the samples. I get the distinct impression that the kyokai was not prepared (else why wait for membership to use the WADA accredited lab) to follow through if any of initial screening tests came back with a positive result. If there is any question about the testing process, it could be there before the samples were sent to the lab. Without the custody firmly established, it could be claimed the samples may have been tampered with. Regards, Pak Edit: Fixed a double double wording :/

I have a friend that has been studying Japanese at university, and he is wanting to try reading some "real" books in Japanese. He is interested in medieval Japan, so I loaned him my copy of Shin Heike monogatari by Eiji Yoshikawa, but he is finding that a bit hard to work through. It's not beyond him, but it's slow going. Can any of you recommend a light novel, say for young teens, that treats the same type of material? Regards, Pak

I don't see the point in having the tests done at another lab. Would there be any of the original samples left to test? Ah well, it is only a little longer to wait for B test results. Perhaps it is this step that takes into consideration the various medications an athlete might have taken. From what I've found on WADA testing, I understand a Doping Control Form is submitted with the samples listing medications given in the recent past. I will still hope the test comes out negative. The tournament starts soon, and I want to enjoy it without this kind of stuff hanging over it. If B is positive, and the brothers adhere to their claim they didn't inhale it willingly, the lawyer will probably then offer some ridiculous explanation for the drug's presence, such as someone held a lit reefer under their noses while they were sleeping. He'd have to come up with something, or else they would have to admit to lying about never being around it. Regards, Pak

Thanks for the clarification -- I thought I had been keeping up with this thread, and I missed that. Now I don't feel so dense for not recognizing any steroids in the test kit list. I had thought it was a case of bad news overshadowing the good -- "Anti-Doping lectures had a positive impact, no one is using drugs to do better on the dohyo!" is not nearly as juicy as "Drug test reveals two more foriegn rikishi have been smoking pot!" -- so the recent comments on this thread about upcoming steroid tests were not making sense. I should have known it was just all in my head :P Buried in the murk of this scandal, I still see a glimmer of a positive step for the kyokai. The fact that the tests were given is a step in the right direction, and any rikishi in the lower ranks who may have been using illegal drugs would be idiots and shouldn't be in sumo if they continue to do so now. Unless, of course, further tests confirm the positive for Roho and Hakurozan, and the kyokai administer a mild punishment, such as a mere warning to the brothers and their oyakata. I don't see the kyokai being that dumb, as such a punishment would raise even more hubbub than they have to deal with already, and really proving the need for strong reforms in the kyokai administration. To be honest, I hope they drag their feet just a little bit before testing the lower ranks, to give time for any youngsters who may have dabbled in drugs to clean up their act and not test positive when the time comes. So that they have the chance to develop their skills and become great rikishi in the future. Regards, Pak

I thought the screening they did to the upper level rikishi included performance enhancing drugs and as such, would include steroids. I looked at the link Jonosuke supplied, but I am not familiar enough with the active ingredients of the various steroids to see if they are included in the test kit. I googled about, but I didn't see any of the compounds I found included in the test kit's list, and my brain is spinning. It's not as black and white as I thought, there is such a variety, and chemistry is not one of my strengths :/ Regards, Peake

Eh, they did not take the additional samples immediately? Stalling, giving time for any drugs to work their way out of the system ... some people will think so, regardless of the real reasons there was a delay. I have to agree with Asashosakari in that it was inevitable that the news would come out, regardless if the kyokai announced it or not. A lose-lose situation for the kyokai, but they could have handled their announcement better, making it clear in the first place that some of the medications being taken by Roho and Hakurozan could have resulted in a false positive, and that determined follow-up actions were being taken to clarify the results...but apparently not so determined, argh. I am thinking about this way too much :P Regards, Pak

Mom, former academic, now software consultant, doing part-time retail work on the side to force me away from our house and get myself away from the computer, LOL. Harry, I have the same experience with the hardware grad work, its nice to know I am not alone :) I took out some of my old textbooks after reading your post -- I have forgotten a LOT. One thing about the retail work, it's really helped me learn patience, but what I love about it is the people I work with. Like this forum, people from all sorts of backgrounds, but just really, really great people that I enjoy interacting with. Regards, Pak

That sounds very sensible. If it is handled this way and the results do come out negative, it would be a blessing in disguise for the brothers. With both struggling to recover from injuries, a "free basho off" could only help them to regain their health and be in better shape for the November basho. I have to admit though, the cynical part of me wonders if the kyokai would do the sensible thing. In announcing the results of the screening tests before the results were confirmed by further testing was irresponsible. Part of the motivation in the "positive" announcement may have been an effort to show they were taking the drug testing seriously, but now the association is having to backpedal and stress it is not conclusive. An ugly scenario, and I wish they had not said anything until after it was known for certain if any drug abuse had taken place. Ah well, the news probably would have leaked out anyway, and then the kyokai accused of trying to hide it. Regards, Pak

I am assuming the more thorough testing for marijuana has already been initiated. It would certainly be in the best interests of both the kyokai and the brothers. The brothers have denied any use, and I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt, and my sympathy should the tests prove the initial results were misleading. A relative of mine went through a similar experience (not in sumo, just the drug testing part), and even though his results were negative after the full barrage of testing was complete, the taint remained. Luckily for him, the individuals involved in prematurely releasing the preliminary results were determined to make it right, and made a public apology and stood solidly behind him to help put all doubts to rest. I think the kyokai is correct in waiting to make any decisions prior to the results from the more sophisticated testing. I just hope the tests come back quickly enough, positive or negative, for this to be resolved prior to the Aki basho. For it to linger on during the tournament (what would they do if the tests came out positive and reported during the basho?) would not be a good thing. Regards, Pak