Dwale

I'm always cheering for Takayasu, but there's no mistake this will be an uphill battle for him. I wish both he and Goeido luck, though.

"Even when I'm not right, I'm right." Words to live by. More seriously, thanks for the video. Getting all this information from you and from this forum has really deepened my appreciation for the sumo enterprise.

I enjoyed the video a great deal and would not mind at all to see more like that. I was surprised to hear Kinta predict a Goeido promotion, but after last basho, I'm not saying anything is impossible. The Japanese would certainly love it, and that ultimately is good for sumo as a whole. Hence, I will be cheering Goeido this tournament, win or lose.

Well, I mean, they are supposed to. It's part of the game.

I would think Shodai. I do expect Mitakeumi to put in a respectable performance, but I would be surprised (and very pleased) if he went kachikoshi.

lol. I would cheer so loud the neighbors would hear it.

Kisenosato's rigidity is something I've noticed before. However, even granting that this rigidity is a gaping hole in his game, would not that still be an issue of the brain?

Oh, I wish I had been watching during Takanohana's career!

Sadly. And I think it's 100% psychological, too, and not even really his fault.

I can sum this one up succinctly: one of the best days of sumo I've ever seen! Yeah, I've only been watching on the regular for a few years- still. Amazing. And that staredown between Goeido and Harumafuji... I got chills. I was watching with my girlfriend and we were both just like, "Uh-oh, it's about to go down!" XD

Wow, the weight disparity in Gagamaru's match is even more than I had supposed!

No, Kisenosato, why?? You had him, you had him...! T.T No, Takayasu, although actually yeah, yay! Sorry, I like Harumafuji, he's a great wrestler, but Takayasu just has that scrappy underdog thing going (though he's looking less and less like an underdog lately). So now Goeido has to lose twice (which he may well). Know what, now that Kisenosato is out of the running, to heck with it. Go, Goeido! XP Seriously, I'd just as soon a Japanese rikishi take the cup, make the fans happy. Never in a million years thought it might be Goeido, but...

Holy hell, what a day of sumo that was. Not sure I can even name a single favorite match of the day, so I'll name two: Tochinoshin v Takanoiwa & Ikioi v Mitakeumi. Both of those were just amazing. Mitakeumi is wrestling well at M4, so he'll be knocking on the door next basho. But he's not doing quite so well as Endo down at M14, who's demolishing the lower rungs of the makuuchi ladder. Endo on his way to a special prize, I guess? I'm not taking Goeido's victory as a portent, as Terunofuji hasn't been right ever since he got injured. I'm expecting a Kisenosato victory tomorrow, Takayasu had me worried there, since Okinoumi was in a position to get a grip where Takayasu wasn't, but he managed. Yay! Oh, speaking of having me worried, Ura. I had one of those, "But he's so small, how can he possibly...?" moments, but he put that to rest with a quickness.

I have to say, Endo has had some very nice wins this time around. Today was another "Oh, snap" victory for him. Takayasu still going strong. There's no point in my saying "ozeki" until he actually has the numbers, but as a fan it's exciting to see him competing well at such a high level. Best win of the day IMHO was Satoyama down in juryo. Holy. Crap. Also, I feel bad for Gagamaru, he's becoming dispirited. Chiyoshoma continues to impress, though. As for the cup, well, I don't believe Goeido is going to get a zensho-yusho, although he is in the zone and may well be about to place a new best score as an ozeki.

Wow, both of the yokozuna matches today were nail-biters. Great stuff. Most basho, things are starting to heat up around now, but this one strangely seems to have settled into a groove. Still on the edge of the my seat. Osunaarashi, please don't be injured. >.<

You mean Japanese Carl Sagan there or Mr. Mustache? So, let's address the elephant in the room, that being Okinoumi of all people. While Okinoumi has demonstrated good technique, his tendency to do poorly against sanyaku means that I don't think anyone was expecting him to do quite this well. What a surprise. Well, sumo is results-based. Let's see what numbers he can put up. Favorite match of the day was actually juryo this time, that being Satoyama v Sadanofuji. Not the most exciting, no, but I find the fact that Satoyama is in there at all to be inspiring, and to take the win against an opponent who is so much bigger, and has beaten him so much in the past... Smart sumo, anyway. Chiyoshoma doesn't look like much, but he's got skills. Watching him closely. Mitakeumi pulled off a cool switcheroo there and often wrestles above what his experience level would suggest. Oh, Tochinoshin, why? >.< Terunofuji doing well with the underhand grip, even just one-armed. And Takayasu getting another win. Good on him. Sure I'm forgetting some, ah, well. Another great day of sumo even if I'm purposefully not looking at the leader board yet because it'll make my head hurt.

Man, listen to that collision in Terunofuji v Kaisei. Wouldn't wanna be in the middle of that! But Terunofuji showing off that famous strength of his and heaving Kaisei down for the win. I wonder if Kotoyuki pulled himself together. I sure hope so, he can't afford another disappointing performance like last basho. Is it just me or does Shohozan's scary face keep getting bigger? He always seems rather grim, I imagine he must be pretty intimidating. He is doing well so far and showed great focus in yesterday's (day one) bout. Since Kinta brought it up, I'm curious what people think: Can Takayasu get double digit wins this basho? I would personally love to see Takayasu do this, he's got great fighting spirit; every time he gets knocked down the banzuke, he comes right back up to try it again. You have to admire that determination. Ganbatte, Takayasu! Down in Juryo, Osunaarashi manhandles a smaller opponent, one of his specialties, while Ura just blows me away with how good his balance is. And a win for Aminishiki, who I'm sure most of us are cheering on. Great day of sumo, and one that bodes an exciting tournament. Kanpai!

Congratulations to Okinoumi for his kinboshi. He's in a great position, let's see if he can keep it up. Favorite match of the day: Harumafuji and Yoshikaze. Was really looking forward to this one and wasn't disappointed. Yoshikaze came to throw down, but Harumafuji was just too much for him.

Greetings, everyone. Hope you're well. Day one action, well, it's too early to say much, though of course that's no good omen for Kisenosato, but I'll be cheering for him whatever happens. My main man Osunaarashi unsurprisingly losing to Ura (Ura's style is a nightmare for Osunaarashi, it just is). Fun match, though. And my, but Osunaarashi's chonmage is getting ever more historically accurate. Shodai put up a good fight. You know, Kotoshogiku is strong, so if he's pushing on you, it's difficult not to move backwards. Terunofuji looked like he had something going there, but Yoshikaze speeds in with the same grip the entire division knows Teru is vulnerable to now. If he doesn't patch this hole, he's gonna be in trouble. I hope Takayasu didn't spend the interim period getting wasted and goofing off, because he's going to have a rather difficult time if that's the case. It's only day one, so not a lot to say. Kanpai.

And Harumafuji does it. Congratulations to him. I would rather a Kisenosato win, but Harumafuji's certainly a fine wrestler and deserves it. But for now, Kisenosato takes home "Best Eyebrows" and still has the all-time record. I feel like this was probably his best chance, but with cracks showing in Hakuho's invincible facade, it's not inconceivable he might make yokozuna at some future point. I hope so. It's frustrating, because while he's a cut above the rest of the ozeki lineup, he seems to lack just that little extra something the yokozuna have. And Takanoiwa turns the tables on Yoshikaze. That three way play-off would've been a sight, but alas. Guess he'll leapfrog way up the banzuke. Congratulations to him as well. Yeah! Terunofuji managed. Good on him. It's been a while since he had a great tournament, but I'm sure that's a temporary state of affairs. Takayasu also finishing strong with a pretty authoritative throw. So, has he leveled up after all? Perhaps, I would certainly like to think so, but that answer will come in time. Takarafuji- No. And wow, Ura managed 11-4. Not shabby at all, especially with his ankle fragged.

Playlist of today's matches. No idea about spoilers in the titles, as I don't read Japanese.

Well, while you can never rule out Hakuho winning any given match, he's obviously not himself, so I think it most likely that Harumafuji will take the yusho. However, if there's a play-off...I'll be cheering Kisenosato no matter what happens. I would love to be proven wrong about the yusho. Terunofuji- work on getting a secure grip /early/ because your opponents are beating you to the punch (or grip, in this case). Maybe a double-underhand against some of these lighter guys? Kitaharima exploiting Ichinojo's limited mobility. An unusual-looking match, but interesting. Good use of speed. Best of luck of everyone tomorrow. EDIT: Not expecting Takanoiwa to get past Yoshikaze.

Ok, going to take my medicine here, Kisenosato let Shodai come in like that, but it was a trap. If Kisenosato's timing had been off by just a hair, he would have stepped out. But, it wasn't and he didn't. I don't think Shodai will fall for that a second time, but he didn't have nearly as much control of that match as I thought he did the first time.

Wow. Hakuho...it looked to me like he just wasn't focused, which is very unlike him. What on earth...? Terunofuji, I don't know. Like I said, it looked to me like Hakuho's mind was elsewhere, and Terunofuji is strong as a horse, if you don't engage, he will have no trouble hauling your flaccid carcass around the dohyo. But he's not himself. As for Mitakeumi, it's how he recovers from this basho that tells us the calibre of fighter he is. Does he come back and try again or does he drop off the map? His sumo suggests to me that we'll see him up here again. Shodai is fast, a lesser opponent would have been escorted right past the bales. And as Kinta pointed out, he's effectively joijin this basho because of kyujo. He's focused and proving himself to be a fast learner. So much promise. But props to Kisenosato for getting the upper hand. Kakkoii. XP Well, Takayasu's streak came to a close with a determined Yoshikaze literally smacking him around the dohyo. Both of these guys have strong fighting spirit, but Yoshikaze just the more fierce today. Ichinojo looked on point, as you would hope anyone at seven wins would be. I think if he got fired up, he would be scary, but he seems to use his fire sparingly. I often get the feeling that he's depressed, but that's just a gut feeling. And probably transference. XP Ura's opponent did not seem like his heel touched outside to me. Ura wrestling on one leg, performance is always going to drop in that situation. Bravely battling through it, I'm cheering for him but never cease to be amazed at what these guys will fight through. EDIT: Should mention Takarafuji's having a great basho and looking game. Does this bode well for his future? I don't know. I don't dislike Takarafuji and he has had some excellent matches, but I just don't feel strongly about him one way or the other. He is competitive, though.

Takayasu is blazing right now. Kotoyuki is doing the opposite of that. Attracting light, I guess, not to call him fat or anything.