Dwale

Kakuryu gave him a run for his money. Not the end of the basho I wanted, but an entertaining match all the same. As far as Hakuho's arm, if it only hurt "a little" he wouldn't even have mentioned it. Professional fighters, especially older ones, are always plagued with various minor injuries, and a high pain tolerance is pretty much a requirement. No idea about the severity of the injury and if it has career-changing implications, but it sure as hell hurts more than he was trying to act like. Takakeisho was weeping, y'all see that? So stoic on the outside, but he must've been suppressing anxieties all this time. A tenth win and the dam burst open. Congratulations to him. I expect they'll promote him now. Someone give that man a hug and a cookie. Let's hope Mitakeumi takes this as an opportunity to regroup, to reconsider his sumo before making another attempt to join the big time. He's got the skills and the toukon, but there's more work to be done before he's ready. It makes sense Ichinojo would take up archery, as it's one of the "three manly sports" of Mongolian culture, wrestling, horse-riding and archery. Ichinojo: "I have a bad back." Ichinojo's horse: "You think YOU have a bad back..." Anyway, he's young and has room to grow (in ability, he's probably good on weight). Whatever he's doing, he needs to keep doing it. And congratulations on the jun-yusho. Well, it's been fun, folks. Peace.

Hakuho is many things: a freak physical specimen, a technical master, a wrestling prodigy, and more. However, none of this would have driven him to the heights which he has reached without one other essential factor: not just the will, but a burning need to dominate his opponents, to break all the records, to crush anyone who would get in his way. Of course, the only one who knows what goes through Hakuho's head is the man himself. And if your mind is made up, there's nothing I can say to change it anyway. Cheers.

Hakuho would never willingly lose a match.

I guess this may not have occurred to you, but to post double-digit wins at any rank above M3 means you're doing something right. Moreover, that is completely irrelevant. It's what you do during the honbasho that matters.

You think Takayasu hasn't performed well? Takayasu is a well-rounded fighter and I think he'll continue to improve. While I can't say whether he'll ever be a match for Hakuho, time is on his side.

As for Takakeisho's promotion, or lack thereof, I feel like he deserves it because I felt like he deserved it last basho. But I expect they'll deny him again if he loses tomorrow. I feel like 10 wins, including a yokozuna and two ozeki (if he beats Tochinoshin) should be sufficient, but the people who decide these things and I are clearly not on the same wavelength, so we'll just have to see. What I would like to happen is: Takakeisho wins tomorrow, promoted to ozeki. Tochinoshin goes down to sekiwake. Tochinoshin heals up, gets double-digit wins at Natsu, comes back up to ozeki. They both really, really want this win. Makes me wish there was a way for them both to claim it, but alas, sumo is eternally unforgiving.

Well, we'll be going into senshuraku with the yusho undecided, so that's exciting. Good amount of 7-7 scores going into tomorrow, too, which always makes for good drama. Takakeisho: "I'm gonna blow him off the dohyo before he knows what hit him!" Ichinojo: "Nah." Gonna chalk this one up to Takakeisho's inexperience. Ichinojo saw it coming a mile away but at least it keeps the yusho in the air. Hakuho v. Takayasu went about how I expected. Best part of that match was that intense, chill-inducing staredown. The bout itself was anticlimactic after that. Well, looks like we're set up for some exciting matches tomorrow. Best of luck to everyone except Hakuho The way Kakuryu has been fighting the last few days, he's got a snowball's chance at best but hey, you never know. Maybe Hakuho'll step on a Lego or something.

Hadn't said anything 'cause I didn't want to jinx him, but I was really worried about Yoshikaze last time, so it's nice to see him back to his old self. Double digits! It's gonna be weird not having Ikioi in makuuchi, he's been around so long I just expect to see him. Hoping he can heal up and reclaim his slot. So, Takakeisho! He needed that win but I wasn't confident he could pull it off. Takayasu never able to get anything going. Now the little guy has got Ichinojo. That's gonna be a tough match for him, and a bit of a sadistic choice for an opponent. Guess they want to test him, well, this'll do it! Maneuverability is his advantage here. If he can attack from the side, get him off-balance, then he might have a chance. He might also try a stick and move strategy to see if he can wear the big guy out. Tough bout no matter what he does; he'll never be more than an instant from getting swatted, flung or crushed. Tochinoshin will be fighting hard the next two days, but I'm not sure that'll be enough. I wish him all the best. Heh, maybe he'll try a henka. In Hakuho v. Goeido, there was an instant where Hakuho's balance was off, but he recovered so quickly that it would have been impossible for Goeido to exploit from that position. Well, maybe Takayasu will have a better go of it, though the odds of a Hakuho loss this basho are looking ever-more distant.

LOL At first I thought this was a typo, but then it was like, "No, no, that's right!"

Being a sumo fan has made me more superstitious somehow, at least when it comes to sumo. Logically I know it doesn't work like that, but I can't shake the feeling. And yes. That would be an *amazing* turn of events. It's precisely what I'm hoping for.

THWACK! Considering how well the mic picked that up, the folks there live must've heard it clear to the parking lot. (Thanks for that, I've watched it several times now) Forgot to mention earlier, Tamawashi v Endo was entertaining. I wasn't expecting much from it, but they really put on a show. EDIT: I also forgot to mention that Ichinojo is still in kaiju mode. Made it look easy. I really hope this is just him from now on. *fingers crossed*

Double digits for Kotoshogiku, and good for him. Also nice to see that Aoiyama didn't let that loss affect his fighting spirit. A lot of my picks got their behinds handed to them today, but at least Takayasu's win took the edge off. Tochinoshin did better than I would have expected. Unfortunately they don't give you wins for that. Dire straits for him. Well, nothing to do but cheer and hope. He might just be able to sneak one by Kakuryu if he brings the fire. Takakeisho has shown before that he handles pressure pretty well, but I wonder if it hasn't finally gotten to him this time. Not a great spot for him to be in going into day 13. Not giving up hope, though. We'll see what he can do against... *checks* Takayasu. Uh...ganbatte yo. Takayasu has a history of running out of steam towards the end of the basho. Problem is, he seems to be over that now. Hakuho may well zensho, making me eat my words. Wouldn't be the first time. I would prefer the excitement of going into senshuraku with the yusho undecided, of course, so I'll be cheering Goeido tomorrow.

I agree he should work on his grappling, even if just to have some desperation moves. Eventually, someone's gonna grab ya.

I think he uses his height as an advantage. Because his center of gravity is so low, he can afford to posture up and use more of his upper-body strength while still maintaining his stability.

Mhm. It's possible to KO with a slap if you put your whole body into it.

That goes for a lot, maybe even most, of the oshi specialists.

Yes, this was a great demonstration of how strong Ichinojo really is. When you've got a human mountain like Aoiyama shoving on you, and you make him go backwards...

Woo, that's bold! I am not that confident, but would love to see it.

Yeah. Aoiyama's best chance is to use his reach to keep Ichinojo off of him while he tries to thrust him out or down. But Ichinojo just has a deeper bag of tricks and good stability. He needs to be careful moving in, but if he can he can get a hold of Aoiyama then that's probably it. He'll try to latch on straight from the tachi-ai unless he wants to go for a hikiotoshi (which might well work, but would be risky).

Amazing that Hakuho is able to recover from a position like that, but he can't keep giving up his back. I think Kakuryu wanted to get the jump on Takakeisho at the tachi-ai. Didn't work! Takakeisho likely to post double digits, silencing doubters. Goeido seems to recovered from yesterday's loss quite admirably. Still looking good even if he's out of the race. (I wanted Tochinoshin to win, however.) Aoiyama and Ichinojo still tearing it up. No idea who's going to take the win in their bout. Ichinojo is more versatile, but Aoiyama has better mobility. Aoiyama has enough power to shove Ichinojo out. Conversely, if it comes to grappling, Ichinojo takes that match. Hmm. I'm going to favor Ichinojo, I think he'll get a hold of Aoi's belt. Really nice moves from Chiyoshoma down in the lower maegashira ranks.

Looks like just about everyone had their heart in it today. I don't know what else to call it but "fan service" despite the unfortunate connotations. Man, if tomorrow is anything like today was, I'm gonna be skipping lots of sleep to watch live.

Some great matches in sanyaku today. I'm not sure whether I prefer Ichinojo's win or Tochinoshin's, they were both excellent. That Tochinoshin match was just about more than my heart can take, holy crap. Takayasu v. Tamawashi was also a bit of a nail-biter. Great stuff.

Hakuho isn't just an offensive powerhouse, his defense is also top-tier. Takakeisho is excellent with leverage and angle of attack, so he can push out anyone, regardless of size. But will he? All combat sport boils down to the mechanics of anatomy: where and when power can be applied in order to achieve victory. Takakeisho is good at this, but Hakuho is still the master. If the latter is on his game, Takakeisho stands little chance. The question is, "How on his game is Hakuho?" We'll see soon enough.

Hoooohohohoho, that was close! Incredible recovery from Hakuho, true, but he ought never to have been in that position in the first place. I don't think he's going to zensho, which is good because that makes the basho more exciting. Tochinoshin managed to beat Ichinojo, huh. Well, that was unexpected. The way Tochinoshin started this basho, I was in doubt he was even going to manage a kachikoshi. Looks like he will, though, and that's a good thing. We still haven't seen him healthy at ozeki yet. Mitakeumi isn't right. Couldn't say if it's his mind or his knee or both, but he's not himself. Unfortunate.

Hakuho v. Shodai is one of the funnier matches of this basho. "Oh, you're vulnerable?" *doink* Gotta admire the little dumpling (Takakeisho) doing so well at such a young age. Really hoping he can make it and inject some youthful vigor into the elite ranks. As I've said many times before, there's a great rikishi inside Ichinojo somewhere. No, I don't mean he ate one, I mean he has so much potential. But we only ever see it in fleeting glimpses. Every time I think he's finally "unleashed the beast" he ends up falling back on his lackadaisical sumo before the basho is over. Still, I hold out hope.