Dwale

Ah, lucky! I envy you that.

And that makes me so, so very sad.

"Hype" means "intensive publicity." It does not necessarily mean that such publicity is unwarranted. That is why we have the phrase "lives up to the hype."

Well, I think folks are put off by all the hype. As to whether they're justified in feeling that way, time will tell. Ura certainly has talent, but the full breadth of it remains yet to be seen. But, if he is able to live up to the hype (which, to be fair, is a tall order at this point), then the day will come when the doubters will fall silent. As for me personally, I'm content to watch and wait, and to enjoy the ride. One thing Ura is definitely not is boring.

Woo! Some good bouts today, let's see... Yoshikaze v. Endo was quite entertaining, lots of movement and back and forth. My favorite of the day. I was surprised Ura was able to pull that off. Watching on a miniature feed earlier, I couldn't even really tell what happened. I don't think Shodai's likely to let that happen a second time, but it was nice. Ura is very quick. I got a strange satisfaction out of Chiyoshoma's win, too. Hey, "stay on your feet, don't step out" is Sumo 101. If you can get a win by flitting around like a butterfly, more power to ya. Speaking of, there's Harumafuji. Not the first time he's lost from getting a little wild with his footwork. I think he tries to brace low to generate more power to compensate for his (relatively) low weight, but that's no good on the bales. Anticlimactic and it may cost him dearly in the end. We shall see. Takayasu is so close now. Ah, but that's exciting. I do agree that he'll be more convincing with 11 or more wins, but he's got to get ten first.

Not sure whether Hakuho/Takayasu or Kaisei/Ura was my favorite match of the day. Both of those were really tasty. Excellent strategy from Hakuho. Special mention for Ishiura being the most aerodynamic rikishi in makuuchi, but also, he dang near pulled off a win after pulling that Atlas impression. Oh! Forgot to mention Sokokurai v. Shodai. Amazing reversal, there. When I saw his weight start to shift I was sure it was game over. My jaw dropped.

Chiyonokuni does not appear to have suffered any diminishing of his fighting spirit after a hard first week. This is what I look for in a rikishi. I will be keeping a very close eye on him to see how he rebounds. Did Mitakeumi not see that coming a mile away? (As always, it's easy criticize from the comfort of my chair, here, but it was just one of those "Dude, watch out for the hataki-! Dangit...")

Aoiyama has surprised me with his agility a number of times. He's so top-heavy it seems like it should be impossible, but he can be quite nimble sometimes.

So many good bouts today... To start with Kisenosato v. Aoiyama, here you see something that Kisenosato does very well, perhaps better than anyone else in the division, and that's spending his energy efficiently. And this match was classic Kisenosato, constant pressure over time as opposed to straining forward and burning through all his oxygen in seconds. (I suspect Kise may have an abnormally effective cardiovascular system, though a combination of style and conditioning could explain his stamina just as well.) In any case, Aoiyama seems to have expended his stores in the effort; after that it was a simple matter for Kise to move him out. Very impressed with Hokutofuji today. Takarafuji is strong enough to where his having you on the bails is a problem. Great display of tenacity from Hokutofuji and an entertaining match all around. Ura pulling a bit of a magic trick there. Swoosh! We've seen Terunofuji hoist guys off their feet plenty of times, yet it never ceases to be impressive. Holy crap is this guy ever a monster. Mitakeumi: "Note to self, be very, very careful of letting this guy get a hold of you." Harumafuji seems about as healthy as he gets. I'm more convinced by his sumo than by Hakuho's this basho, but you can never count Hakuho out. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Takayasu still on track. Yoshikaze is a good rikishi, but just no match for Takayasu today at all. Special mention for Daishomaru's sukuinage victory, which was clean and flashy.

You know, Ishiura v. Tochinoshin is a bad match...for Ishiura. He's lucky he didn't end up with his head stuck into the dohyo like a lawn dart. Of course, considering the pair it takes for someone his size to even show up, I'm surprised he can get his mawashi on. You can't say he's not brave. Ura getting a win, heck yeah. Having some ambivalence about his success, because while I'm excited to see what he can do against the elites, I'm also dreading it. I wonder if he's gonna pass Chiyoshoma on the way up the banzuke and get told to run while he still can. XP

Kisenosato is having a beautiful struggle this basho, and if I had to sum it up in one word, it would be "inspiring." Great match against a talented and promising rikishi in Mitakeumi. Kisenosato deserves that rope as much as anyone who ever wore it.

Daieisho looks totally unprepared for such a high rank. Not to take anything away from Kisenosato, who is still The Man in my book, but Daieisho had nothing. A number of slobber-knockers today. The tournament is hot! Chiyonokuni not getting the win, but fighting hard. Respect. I'm not worried about Takayasu. He and Tamawashi are pretty evenly matched. Not sure if Takayasu didn't have his head on straight today or what, but I'm not going to worry yet. Uh-oh, I hope Ishiura is ok... I like Ura and I expect him to do well in makuuchi, but I never expected to see him handle Ichinojo like that. Injured or not, he's still a big ol' slab of man. Very cool win.

You're not getting off the hook for that "Yoshiwashi" crack, just so you know. XP

I'm glad Kakuryu went kyujo. Not a fan or anything, but you just don't like to see a yokozuna put in a showing like that. May he recover well. Chiyoshoma has nothing to be ashamed of, he came in with a plan and went fought hard. It was a solid effort. Kisenosato in rough shape, I'm worried about what the days ahead hold for him. If he were close to 100% I'm sure that would have been a much shorter bout. Heh, Hakuho making short work of Mitakeumi. That's just how it goes with him: give Hakuho something to work with and your odds of winning drop significantly. But, Mitakeumi will come back again and again until he gets it right, because that's the kind of rikishi he is. Ishiura doing better than I expected. Good on him, I hope he can hang on in makuuchi.

He tends to tank in the final third of the basho, but I agree, he'll probably get 12 or so.

Some good stuff today, though I haven't seen all the matches yet. Just a few thoughts... Mitakeumi v. Takayasu was indeed a good match. Takayasu is just in the zone, though. At one point Mitakeumi rushes away to wipe down and throw salt again, while Takayasu casually saunters to his corner, looking almost bored. I think Mitakeumi was nervous about this one, and not without reason. A rivalry in the making, I'm sure of it. Chiyoshoma looks like a flippin' toothpick against Terunofuji. Never had a chance, poor guy. Ura didn't manage a win, but looked not bad at all. Echoes of Mainoumi in this one. Kisenosato shooting himself in the foot, there. This happens with him sometimes, he thinks when it would be more to his advantage to act. Unfortunate. Kakuryu under-performing again, though it bears mention that Yoshikaze is a total badass...part of the time. XP

I can't wait!

The Chiyonokuni v Kisenosato match just about gave me a heart attack. Hell of a bout, but damn, son. Tamawashi meant to end his losing streak against Mitakeumi and I think a lesser rikishi would have succumbed to his assault. But, future ozeki Mitakeumi weathered it like a champ. Takayasu still on track against a fading Kotoshogiku, who must be utterly demoralized at this point. I feel bad for Kotoshogiku fans. But you never know, maybe he'll bounce back and start getting wins. We shall see. I would like to see a rivalry between Ura and Ishiura, but as yet Ishiura is simply out of his league when they face off. A pity. You know, I think Kotoyuki might just need to cool his heels in juryo for a bit, reevaluate his approach, then come back and try again. And Ichinojo wins the battle of the tree-trunk thighs against Tochinoshin. That's...a lot of thigh on the dohyo, there.

Nice tachi-ai from Takayasu. You think Goeido felt that? I think folks in the parking lot felt that. Ura showing off his agility, slippery little fellow that he is. That was a fun one. Congrats to Chiyonokuni on his kinboshi. The basho is not looking good for Kak, who had better rally. Terunofuji... Well, to be fair, I think Tamawashi can beat anyone on a good day, but this looks like it's going to be another dud basho for Terunofuji. We'll see, though. And we have Okinoumi trying to exploit Kisenosato's injury. I expect we'll see plenty of that this basho, but he wasn't able to capitalize. I hope Kisenosato is able to compensate, since he clearly does not intend to go kyujo. I wouldn't think any less of him if he did, but you know how these guys are. Things are warming up already.

As much as I like Chiyoshouma, I'm expecting him to spend a lot of time getting manhandled this basho. Good luck to him, he's going to need it. In any event, Tamawashi looking fast, strong and confident. Worried about Kisenosato. He probably should have sat this one out. We'll see how it goes. Endo not looking bad against Terunofuji. It's too early to say, but this could potentially be an important basho for him. Might we see him in the sanyaku come July? Perhaps, perhaps. Hakuho looked sloppy there IMHO. Eh. Ishiura and Ura both seem in good shape. Looking forward to see what they'll do. I'll be cheering hard for Takayasu and Mitakeumi! I don't think Takayasu's going to get a zensho, but I do think he'll get the ten wins he needs. Which would be awesome.

I'm too stunned...he...and then... lol. Well, as folks like to say, "Anything can happen in sumo." Apparently! I've never been more delighted to be proven wrong. All the congratulations in the world to Kisenosato. WOW. What a warrior.

Just woke up and saw a pic of Kisenosato with the cup. Oh my God, how? HOW!?

Which he will. It wasn't Kisenosato's skills that made me his fan (although he has excellent skills), but his composure.

*deep breath* Ganbatte, Ura, Aoiyama, Tochinoshin, Endo, Daishomaru, Seiro to Satoyama! *faints* And of course, the same for Kisenosato. The chances don't matter when it comes to cheering for my homey.

If he does, no amount of contrition could ever make me cheer for him again.