Dwale

I don't think I've ever seen a day where so many of my favorite rikishi lost! Osunaarashi's safety buffer is gone. Tochinoshin is not really someone you want to be on the bails against... The ghost of Kisenosato put up about as much fight as a mobile home does to a tornado. Come on, man! Takayasu and Takarafuji was a good bout. I felt sure Takayasu was going to pull off a win, but alas... Takarafuji definitely earned it, so good for him. Aminishiki got a nice-looking throw in. Sometimes I forget how much strength he has left in him. Kasei didn't seem like he expected it any more than I did.

http://ameblo.jp/ami-nishiki/image-12064947118-13404344602.html From Aminishiki's blog a few months ago Pfffft! So he can do it!

Man, thinking of someone like Gagamaru falling on this kid's neck in the middle of one of those acrobatic throws is enough to keep you up nights. EDIT: I hope to God we never see anything like that in sumo.

He's worth watching for the flash and novelty alone. I'm very interested to see him as a sekitori, but not going to get too excited until he gets that far.

This thread was a great idea. I have to admit, though, some rikishi I've been watching for years, I didn't recognize... because they were smiling. EDIT: Do I even want to see a picture of Kisenosato smiling, or is that weird and scary?

Same here. He's absolutely komusubi material IMHO, though I don't see him keeping it very long until he refines his sumo a bit. Still, I feel like Osunaarashi in the sanyaku is just a matter of time. Needs to get that kachikoshi first, though!

Yes, indeed. I like Gagamaru and Shohozan is really growing on me. He's not messing around.

Ok... Osunaarashi gets a win, yay. When he started idling in the middle of the dohyo, I remembered some matches from earlier in the basho and started screaming, "What the eff are you doing, you idiot!" But then he won (with feeling) and I was like, "Oh. Well done, then." Heh. Tochinoshin resorting to the henka? Not that Aminishiki didn't have it coming, even if it didn't really work. (It would have been funny if they'd both henka'ed at the same time. Can anyone recall a match like that?) This has been a pretty henka-happy basho, though. And as I said earlier, 80% of Terunofuji is still 100% more rikishi than a lot of folks can handle. He's just a monster. Kisenosato...ah, well. Maybe next time, champ. EDIT: And Ichinojo seems to have shaken off the Haitian curse he's been wrestling under lately. Glad to have him back.

The first time I watched, I was too surprised to appreciate what I'd seen. Now, though, it gets funnier every time I watch. Hakuho just ran out of ****s to give at some point. EDIT: I do feel he should do more to uphold the dignity of his rank, but on the other hand, that is still really funny... 2nd Edit: What I would give to be a fly on the wall in regards to the sumo elders here... I'm sure most of them are, "Grr, sumo is serious business!" But you know at least a couple of them are having to stifle their laughter.

Wonder why Yoshi decided to carry Tochi all the way across the dohyo and pushed him out "gently" rather than toppling him to the ground after he got his left leg? Momentum? Excitement/adrenaline? Or maybe just to afford Tochi a more "dignified" loss? Whatever the reason, it was magnificent to watch. I don't know, but my girlfriend loved it!

Yoshikaze's victory was a delight. Osunaarashi has a tough week ahead and not a lot of wiggle room, but I'll be cheering for him no matter what happens. And what's this, is Ichinojo suddenly firing on all cylinders? I can't help but cheer for Takayasu, he won me over with his toukon. I had overlooked Shouhozan before, but this time around he has forced me to take note. Kanpai!

Know what? I am cheering for Mitakeumi, he's got tenacity. Also glad my man Osunaarashi was able to get a win after a tough week. Such a good day of sumo, lots of kimarite I had to run back and watch over and over again.

Hello, I'm Dwale, an amateur writer and singer who happens to like sumo. I started watching right around when Osunaarashi came in and he was a big factor in getting me into the sport. The biggest factor, though, was finding English commentary on a certain youtube channel. So, I look forward to learning more about sumo here, and I'm really psyched watching the Fukuoka basho. Kanpai! Dwale P.S. Please excuse any butchered Japanese utterances.