CT3*

1. A 2. A 3. A 4. A 5. B 6. A 7. B 8. B 9. A 10. A 11. B 12. B 13. A 14. B 15. B 16. A 17. B 18. A 19. A 20. A 21. B

Its not uncommon. For the January basho I tried to purchase online tickets for 3 consecutive days, but was only able to nab tickets for 2. So I got to the Kokugikan early and got in line. Standing in that line got me a ticket that enabled me to actually purchase a ticket. And they have very helpful staff that walk up and down the line looking for foreigners. A nice staffer walked up to me and asked if I understood what was going on. When I replied "no", she explained the process. Same thing happened at the Tokyo Skytree. We stood in line to get a ticket that allowed us to stand in a different line to actually purchase tickets.

The microphone stand is taller than Baraki! (Laughing...)

I expect Giku to win tomorrow. My real interest lies in how it unfolds and how convincing it looks.

Hakuho is NOT playing around! Beast mode.

There has been synchronized clapping before for particular rikishi. Most recently for Kisenosato when he has been in the yusho race. Methinks it stems from the public's yearning for a Japanese yusho winner/hero who also recognize that there are now 4 dominant Mongolians atop the banzuke. Five if Ichinojo gets it together.

Do the Japanese fans think they are somehow helping Goeido by chanting his name before he faces Hakuho? LOL! It only seemed to fire Hakuho up. All it got for Goeido was a sharp slap across the face before being quickly ushered off the doyho.

Didn't seem to me that Terunofuji forced Hakuho to "go all out" in their match. Hakuho had Terunofuji pretty much neutralized in the first 5 seconds and never seemed in danger of losing that bout, imo. After the tachi-ai, Hakuho maneuvered Teru upright on the left side and that negated Teru's ability to gain his own left outer grip. From there it seemed that Hakuho was pretty cautious about not making a mistake, kept Teru off balance enough to prevent Teru from effectively countering and simply took his time...as he's been doing more so this basho. Great effort by Terunofuji but better technique by Hakuho. I really look forward to their future bouts!

Ditto. Those shots are amazing and I've bought every sumo book I could get my hands on. But a sumo photography book?? Much needed!!

Ikioi is better than 1-10 as well, but sometimes that's the way it goes. Perhaps the pressure of performing at the new komusubi slot has taken Takarafuji out of his game. Neither guy seems to be injured (although its sumo and hiding injury is the norm), so perhaps they are simply having poor bashos.

Only one quote today... Hakuho handed first loss; four tied for lead Kyodo Jul 21, 2015 NAGOYA – Yokozuna Hakuho threw away his sole lead at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, slipping and falling on his charge on Tuesday to suffer his first loss of the 15-day event. Sekiwake Tochiozan, who knocked off his second-straight yokozuna opponent, was the benefactor when Hakuho lunged to get a belt hold but missed and slipped down. The surprise win left both men and two others, yokozuna Kakuryu and ozeki Terunofuji, tied at 9-1 at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium. Kakuryu, wrestling in his first tournament since January due to shoulder issues, kept komusubi Takarafuji (1-9) at bay with good balance and repeated blows to the throat. When his opponent overextended himself in a lunge, the yokozuna easily slapped him down to win by hatakikomi. The 23-year-old Terunofuji, a Mongolian like both yokozuna, will face Hakuho, who is seeking his 35th career championship, on Wednesday. The yokozuna has a 4-1 record against the youngster. Promoted to ozeki after winning the summer tourney in May, Terunofuji prevailed over Brazilian-born Kaisei (5-5). The ozeki locked onto Kaisei’s belt with his left hand, fended off some tentative grabs from the No. 3 maegashira before sending his huge opponent tumbling to the sandy surface with a textbook uwatenage (overarm throw). “I was just waiting for the right time and had good timing,” Terunofuji said. “I’ll do my best tomorrow.” In an all-ozeki duel, Kotoshogiku (5-5) was dealt a setback in his pursuit of the eight wins he needs to avoid demotion when he was outmaneuvered and forced out by Kisenosato (7-3). Kisenosato was much more cautious than he had been in his loss to Terunofuji the day before and gave Kotoshogiku no opening. Ozeki Goeido took advantage of a slip by No. 4 maegashira Aminishiki to improve to 6-4. Mongolian maegashira Kagamio’s chances of a miracle makuuchi championship to go with the juryo title he won in May took a hit when he was thrown by Russian Amuru (7-3) in their first career bout in the elite division. Kagamio’s record fell to 8-2. Egyptian Osunaarashi used his superior reach to dominate a furious slapping and shoving exchange and beat Yoshikaze that left both No. 8 maegashira with identical 7-3 records. Osunaarashi improved to 6-1 in his career against Yoshikaze. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2015/07/21/sumo/basho-reports/hakuho-handed-first-loss-four-tied-lead/#.Va45gWdREeg

some good quotes in here... Nagoya Day 9: Hakuho takes over sole lead with 4 hot on his heals Details Created on Monday, 20 July 2015 13:01 Written by Kyodo Yokozona Hakuho maintained his perfect record on Monday to take the sole lead on the ninth day of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament. Fellow Mongolian yokozuna Kakuryu saw his perfect run end with a loss to sekiwake Tochiozan (8-1) in a slapping and shoving battle. Kakuryu, who missed the previous two meets due to a left shoulder injury, was unable to keep up with Tochiozan, the only Japanese wrestler among the leading five. "I was able to get in low. Today was my best match yet," said Tochiozan, who on Tuesday will face Hakuho -- against whom he is 1-28 in his career. "I want to do as I did today, stay patient." Two more Mongolians, new ozeki Terunofuji and maegashira Kagamio, also improved to 8-1. Terunofuji got the job done against veteran ozeki rival Kisenosato, while Kagamio continued to make mincemeat of other lower-ranked wrestlers. Hakuho, chasing his 35th Emperors Cup, had little trouble with Ichinojo in a battle that showed signs of bad blood between the two countrymen. Hakuho, usually the most gentle of victors, gave the sekiwake a nasty shove to the face after Ichinojo was over the straw ridge at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium. Terunofuji earned his eight win by dispatching veteran rival ozeki Kisenosato (6-3) to even their career record at 3-3. Terunofuji, fighting in his first tournament at the sport's second highest rank, showed too much strength, quickness and skill for his cunning opponent. Kisenosato, who thrives on exploiting opponents' mistakes, had few openings, against Terunofuji. Instead, he handed the young Mongolian the match by making an ill-advised lunge that Terunofuji used to propel him from the ring. At the far end of the pecking order, 27-year-old Mongolian Kagamio sealed his first winning record in the upper echelon makuuchi division with a no-nonsense win over No. 13 maegashira Hidenoumi 3-6). Kagamio is back in the top flight as a No. 14 maegashira after winning the second-tier juryo division for the first time in May. He overpowered Hidenoumi on the charge, secured a belt hold with his left hand and levered his opponent out. Not only did Kagamio win eight matches at this level for the first time, but he did it at breakneck speed. "I can't believe this," he said. "This is my first time so I'm really happy. This is something that has eluded me. I think winning the juryo division was big for me." On Tuesday, Kagamio will take on powerful Russian Amuru (6-3) for the first time. Ozeki Kotoshogiku (5-3) moved to within three wins of avoiding demotion with a clever finish to throw the much larger No. 2 maegashira Aoiyama (4-5). With his back to the wall, the large Bulgarian was digging in his heels and never saw the ozeki's perfectly executed underarm throw coming. Goeido improved to 5-4 with a dogged win over Brazilian-born No. 3 maegashira Kaisei (5-4). In a fluid bout, Kaisei was in pursuit but couldn't force the ozeki out, falling victim to a "sukuinage" beltless arm throw. http://www.cibersumo.com/index.php/en/sumo/press-room-news/704-nagoya-day-9-hakuho-takes-over-sole-lead-with-4-hot-on-his-heals

Somehow, I don't see Hakuho as guy that is "not able to control himself". He strikes as someone who does things like that to deliberately send a message. No idea what that message may be, and as I noted, it was bad form to do it atop the dohyo during competition.

As for the Hakuho/Ichinojo flap, none of us really knows what goes on between these guys. Bad form on the part of Hakuho to do that on the dohyo, in my opinion. And the usual, "it was all in the flow" response probably won't cut it. LOL! But none of us have any real idea what the catalyst for that was.

No one has yet commented on Tochinoshin's amazing feat! At the 9:30 mark of Kintamayama's video digest, he actually manages to grab Takarafuji's neck!!

Baruto was a lot quicker, imo.

Looking forward to the Day 7 match up of Terunofuji vs Goeido!

Well my first prediction unfortunately came true. The way he was holding it after the bout looked worrisome. Particularly as he's just had surgery on it.

Good bouts! I predict that Harumafuji pulls out before the end. Oh...and Kisenosato takes the yusho. Unless I just jinxed him.

Its like ringing a doorbell!

Particularly excited for these Day 1 matchups! Aoiyama （0-0）Terunofuji （0-0） Takayasu （0-0）Goueidou （0-0） Kisenosato （0-0）Tochinoshin （0-0) Kakuryuu （0-0）Ichinojou （0-0）

Greetings! Welcome aboard!

I've cheered for Kyokutenho steadily. Used to be indifferent toward Aminishiki before become a fan. But for some reason, Tokitenku has irked my nerves consistently since about 2010. LOL!

Ikioi Aoiyama Takarafuji

1. A 2. A 3. A 4. B 5. A 6. B 7. A 8. B 9. A 10. A 11. A 12. B 13. A 14. B 15. B 16. A 17. A 18. A 19. B 20. B 21. A CT3*