Higashimori

i bit the bullet and asked my wife to call the Kyokai ( (I am not worthy...) ) and they told her 3:30p.m.

Thanks folks. Too bad it's in the afternoon, I won't be able to attend. (I am not worthy...)

I asked this in another thread but it wasn't answered. Does anyone know what time approximately Hakuho's dohyo-iri will be held at Meiji Shrine this Friday? The Kyokai website lists it as happening, but no indication as to when exactly. Nothing on the Meiji Shrine official site either. I seem to recall that Asashoryu's dohyo-iri was around 10am-ish (didn't go, just remember it was then for some reason) but don't really want to get down there too early (or too late!). Anyone?

granted he hasn't punched any reporters of glass windows yet but I thought Tamanoshima was rather out of line today (Hokutoriki by contrast looked a tad miffed but resigned to what's become a common way of losing for him). Not only did Tamanoshima do a brief stare-down with Dejima after getting up off the ground, but before getting back to his spot at the tawara to bow he looked back at Dejima, and then walking down the hanamichi he looked back again! No "omae"'s were exchanged but surely this repeated 振り返る stuff warrants a Richijo talk, no?

勝ち越し

indeed, here we go again.....do a search! We should add that not only does he like sumo, but he LOVES the Olympics, hence his name. I haven't been down to the basho yet, but if we're talking about the guy I can hear even on the broadcast, then that's surely not the Olympic Ojisan. Whoever he is though, mighty irritating. Like that woman who used to scream for Takanohana a few years back.

I don't think that's so true, as this recent article seems to suggest. Of course it's crap like this that can't help but make a vegetarian like myself feel a bit smug :-)

In Japan at least, most fans are not bothered in the least by henka. any empirical data to back that up? (Whistling...) On yesterday's senshuraku broadcast, Kitanofuji seemed to suggest that less henkas would help sumo's popularity (he was specifically commenting on the fact that there seemed to him to be much less henkas at Hatsu '06 than in recent past). I would tend to agree. Henka may not bother the serious sumo fan, but I gotta think that the casual fan, after sitting there through several shikiri sessions, only to have Tosonoumi or whomever fall flat from a henka, would wonder why the hell were they waiting so patiently.

I was quite disappointed by this as well, and we weren't the only ones. Kitanofuji on the NHK broadcast was rather vocal (even for him!) in his surprise that Ama came away with nothing.

and perhaps even stranger (or not), Asa "cut" the envelopes with his left hand after beating Kotooshu today!

indeed, the way mickey blew him away last basho i gave him no chance. you really have to give Ama a lot of credit, not only for his kinboshi but for his entire basho, esp. the way he's manhandled rikishi like Mickey and Roho. (Showing respect...)

[pedantic hat on]technically it was their second match-up[/hat off] but more importantly, I would say he took Ama too lightly (in both senses), figuring he had a bit of a freebie before the two Ozekis....

i believe this was discussed before on the forum (but a quick search turned up nothing)....i seem to recall this was on eBay before and folks were trying to identify it....

Actually, as I remember it (don't have time to check the DVD), it was Demon who said that if he could, he'd like to ask Shuzan whether he thought there were only three basho a year.

Since I've started recording the full broadcasts a full year ago, there have only been two I've saved to disc (I usually just burn copies of the nightly digests and delete the full broadcast recording later) -- the one when Taiho was guest/color commentator, and yesterday's with Demon. Even though I was at the Kokugikan yesterday, I still watched the full broadcast last night just to hear this guy -- as has been said he really knows his sumo, and is funny to boot (I loved when he "corrected" the hanamichi reporter and said you shouldn't call the woman Kitazakura slammed into a "obasan" (old woman, grandmother) but rather a "fujin" (woman)). And as was noted, he really made those post-bout interviews sing. As Takanonami rightly admitted, there really was no need for him (Takanonami) to be there (although all three of them, NHK guy included, were great). Here is Demon sitting at the "mukoujomen" location during Makushita bouts yesterday: