AsaMoe

Same in Germany. AvdG mostly uses the word "cleverly" and gives the impression, that the Henkaing deserved the victory because he was more clever.

Thanks all for your help on GTB After that, i want to take part in one to two games about the actual tournament, maybe one game before start and one during the basho. I have seen, that there are a lot of games and i do not know in which to participate. Could you recommend two, that are, well easy if you dont have so much knowledge about the lower ranks, especially Juryo ?

true, my opinion. More, if a yokuzuna scores a zensho yusho a 13-2 should not be a yusho equivalent. btw, it looks more like Asashoryu being the ladder. If he had won against Kaio, Kaio would have to start from the beginning again.

That is, if i have a correct understanding of the scoring: if i have the number of sekiwakes right and all other else, i score 1 point for rank and 1 point for correct east/west. if i have the number of sekiwakes wrong by one, i score 1 point for every second rikishi for rank And if i have the number of sekiwakes wrong by two, i score nothing at all. In all three cases the scores will be leveled for wrong guesses. So i have good chances if i guess the number of sekiwakes wrong and make a lot of errors in the proceeding. :-D

After i have studied the rules, i have one more question: points are given for the correct positioning of the rikishi. But what happens, if i misguess the numbers of sekiwakes ? Doesn't this mean, that all other are wrong, especially, if i guess 3 instead of 5 or vice versa ?

Thanks all for your help. I am just wodering, if there is a site, where you could download the results from the last bashos and the banzuke in an easy excel-readable form ?

This time i will make my first entry to GTB. Can someone more experienced give me some useful links ? Maybe a link to a how to make a banzuke site and to some kind of a database ? Thanks

Unlucky as it is, but most of my predictions are wrong (for all the germans here: Deutsche Telekom). But today i know about this and only make predictions, when they are for free. But a quote of myself from 09/12/04, that is before Aki about the next tournament: Well, it is not that clear, but for myself, it is the best prediction i have ever made in sumo.

I always like a good, reasoned, polite talk between friends. And i admit, that you are much more experienced and most likely know better. ( I am NOT ironic ). No, I just wanted to wish you health and wisdom.

One interesting point is, that most people believe, that they are healthy, because they are so clever and that others are unhealty because they are not so clever. And that, if they capture injury or disease, than that its there bad luck. Although i think that there are really people who deserve there bad luck, there are also many, who are just unlucky. And i hope for you, Ryukaze, that you will come to this point without experiencing it yourself.

A few thougths of myself. Read it and criticize me: After two years of Asashoryu dominance the scene moves again: the old "Ozeki - guard" will give up: After a long fight with Kadoban Musoyama lost and gave up forever. Tochiazuma also lost, but not forever. He is still in his middle ages and can come back, even if demoted to Juryo. But he will not play a role in the big game in future sumo. His physique is to instable to compete at the very top level. Chiyotaikai: in Hatsu he will either make mk and retire or make a good kk. in this case he will stay Ozeki for some more time, but will also play no role in the big game. His sumo is too predictable for top-class technicians. So in the long run, his best position will be a third place. Kaio will realize, that he has lost his last chance for promotion and will go down. Two steps down and one step up. Untill he retires. Wakanosato will become Ozeki in the near future and stay there for a longer time. All other rikishi currently in makuuchi and juryo will raise at most to Ozeki. Sumo in the next three years will be dominated by two persons: the soldier Asashoryu and cool, calm and collecting (i like that) Hakuho. The position of the Kyokai will be a moderisation with Asashoryu and slowing down the development of Hakuho. They can be quite sure that Hakuho will become Ozeki in 2005 or 2006 and later on Yokuzuna. Slowing hin down will polarize the sumo community and will even lead to a new boom. Asashoryu will win more fights against the field, while Hakuho will win more often in direct matches. I for myself am uncool, so i will be on Asashoryus side (to be honst, i still hope for a comeback of Tochiazuma) ok, and now start criticizing.

Difficult to say, but I am sure, that Wakonosato will not have trouble collecting a win tomorow.

It is again a bit off-topic, but i also think, that calling Tochiazuma "no fighting spirit" is not fair. Of course you could say, that it needs special skills to become Yokuzuna, espicially a healthy and robust body and that this is the skill, that Tochiazuma lacks, but definitely no more.

I dont think, that anybody with REAL backpain can defeat Wakanosato

maybe i am a bit pessimistic, but i am 50% sure, that there will be no fight tomorow. If Chiyotaikai has any health problem, i think he will not risk further injury

Did anyone notice, that by march Asashoryu could have one more tournaments than all other active rikishi together ? Even a situation like 1. Asashoryu - 11 2. Kotomitsuki - 1 could be possible.

It is true, that Tochiazuma and Chiyotaikai are in a, well horrible position, but both are young and i am sure, that at least one of them will recover. I mean, the difference to Kaio and Musoyama is 4 or 5 years.

well, we could only drop a hint from time to time. Maybe someone is reading it.

The interest of all people in their national sports declines, as they get interested in sports from other countries. Thats not a bad sign. But in the case of sumo the marketing to other countries is still, well, non-existent. In Germany it is not possible to watch sumo with less than 2 months delay. Although i do not think that there will be very much popularity, there certainly is interest. And, if established in other countries the boring discussion about Japanes and foreigners will stop.

Very likely Kokkai is not the next Yokozuna, but there are different ways to become one. You could go straigt for it in 1.5 years like Hakuho ( (Blinking...) , i still do not think he will, but he will be very fast) But another way is to improve from basho to basho if you could avoid injury for a long time. Maybe this is the road to Yokozuna for Kokkai ?

Yes, obvious, but the way round. (Shaking head...) Ok, i knew the result.

No, i dont think this match will decide the basho. Even if Asa looses, and he will not, he still is the favorite for this basho.

Hope Roho is as optimistic as you are. I also think, that he will rise very fast, but it would be an accomplishment to become Ozeki next year. We will see. I even think, that Hakuho has to struggle hard, to become Ozeki next year, let alone Yokuzuna. Well, with Kaio's loss yesterday and Tochiazumas injuries, no one of the present Ozeki will become Yokuzuna. I for myself believed, that Tochiazuma was the only one and i still hope, that there is a chance. But to be "pessimistic", there will be only one Yokuzuna in 2005 and maybe three in 2006.

Coming back to the original subject, i would say, that the exact number of M-slots is not important. More important is, how many will go from Juryo to Makuuchi and vice versa. And with the retirement of Musoyama there will be one more up than down.

I mean, how fast will he go down ? If he does not fight, when will he be in Juryu ? Or is it possible that they allow him to start as M17 or something like this ?