Clyde Squirms

[Shomishuu]

The most entertaining thing about today's sumo was something only those watching TV Japan's English language broadcast would have heard, and only those who are familiar with Clyde Newton and the decline of Sumo World Magazine would understand. Apologies to those who are not familiar, but the 'saga' is just too long to recount.

Anyway, Clyde was on the broadcast with Hiro Morita. At halftime, Hiro mentioned an article in the Japan Times Online about some sumo fans in Nebraska (USA) who said they really enjoyed the TV Japan sumo coverage, but were disappointed that there was no English language sumo magazine in print. Hiro exclaimed to Clyde something to the effect that they should get "your magazine."

Instead of responding, Clyde went right into informing listeners about the shimpan for the second half (understandable because their names did come onto the screen right then), but then shut up without responding to Hiro.

But Hiro wouldn't let it go. He brought the subject back up and asked Clyde how these guys in Nebraska could get Sumo World. Clyde said something about not having a web site right now. Hiro asked how/where they might write to ask for it. After a short pause, Clyde mumbled, "That's a good question."

Now I'm assuming these two guys were sitting side by side. So by now I'm imagining Clyde giving Hiro a series of wave-offs, X-signs with his arms, or maybe elbows in the ribs.

So finally after another sticky pause, Hiro said, "Well we'll just ask the Nebraska fans to keep watching the broadcast and when more information becomes available, we'll pass it on. How's that, Clyde?" To which a relieved Clyde readily agreed (paraphrasing here, someone else is controlling my TV now so I can't go back to get the exact words...)

For me, it was a real gut-buster, but I'm guessing the boys in Nebraska are still scratching their heads. (Sign of disapproval...)

[ilovesumo]

Oh dear...

very sad thing...

I am sure it's not Clyde's fault, we all know about the market...bad situation...

we europeans don't even get Sumo on TV anymore, there is no videodatabase...

why not? Cause there is no market.

I wish it was different.

[Asashosakari]

So, was Hiro just oblivious to the whole chain of events, or was he more or less trolling Clyde on-air? My eyes tend to glaze over as soon as I hear "Sumo World", but both those possibilities would still be entertaining from a meta perspective...

[Chiyozakura]

John sent me the September issue of Sumo World as I had not seen one since 2002. I was surprised to see that contentwise it was comparable to the ones from ten years ago. There were some spelling errors, but generally it was good to read. On the first page there even is an adress for subscription directed to Clyde Newton, but I will not give that a try after that disaster from some years ago...still a printed sumo magazine in English is nice to have, especially as Sumo World has such a long tradition.

[Shomishuu]

So, was Hiro just oblivious to the whole chain of events, or was he more or less trolling Clyde on-air? My eyes tend to glaze over as soon as I hear "Sumo World", but both those possibilities would still be entertaining from a meta perspective...

Of course I couldn't help but wonder myself, and I wouldn't begin to guess. Based solely on the tone of the discussion, you could conclude that either of those is plausible. I've never met Hiro personally but I've always thought of him as someone who is too nice a guy to do something like that, so I'll leave that there. And who knows, perhaps they weren't sitting side by side - but it was fun to imagine that.

[Babaryutaikai]

Just like Shomisuu not wanting to get into the gory details, I will only say, among other things >:-( this has nothing at all to do with today's or any day's economy or hard times. Sorry, I Love Sumo, your conjecture may be valid if all of this happened just now, but not, as it had, during a period of fairly robust economical conditions. Clyde bilked a number of subscribers a few years ago - took our money and sent no magazines. A number of excuses ensued, and the oft-maligned, but well meaning (and nice guy) Kawika even offered to help Clyde and tried very hard to get the magazines to us. AFAIK, he had no cooperation from Newton. I, personally, confronted Newton a few times in Japan (as document on the previous ML archives) with absolutely no response, excuse or solution from him.

I cannot believe that Hiro does not know the history of this, since NHK received a number of communications enquiring as to why an international payments fraud had been perpetrated and the perp himself was still permitted (and paid, however lowly) to pose himself as a creditable person. I am not talking about his knowledge of sumo, which is vast, but his theft of his subscribers' money, which has international criminal implications, while still issuing a very inferior product for sale in Tokyo, and instructing payments to be made to Clyde Newton, not to Sumo World. Something is and has, for a long time been wrong with that picture.

Chiyozakura, it is not now or has been about just misspellings, but egregious misinformation, as well. I posted a while ago about a tegata that was said in Sumo World to be XXXX (forgot whose and too lazy to look it up now), but turned out to be someone else's. A full page tegata, at that. I am sorry, but that is inexcusable.

Anyway, for the newbies here, if you are suckered into subscribing, the bottom line is, don't expect anything in your mailbox in the near or distant future. This man is a fraud, a poseur and likely a few other things that I am too old and too tired to find a non-X-rated word for.

Defenders of Clyde welcome to refute, if you can tell us, who spent mucho bucks, how to get them back from him.

I think I will go back on the mailing list..........................but stay here, too, welcome or not.

Edited November 22, 2008 by Babaryutaikai

[Babaryutaikai]

SNIP And who knows, perhaps they weren't sitting side by side - but it was fun to imagine that.

Yeah, sorry for the disillusionment, but they do sit side by side in a little booth in NHk's studio in Shibuya, (I think) Tokyo irrespective of where the current venue is.

[Flohru]

Just like Shomisuu not wanting to get into the gory details, I will only say, among other things >:-( this has nothing at all to do with today's or any day's economy or hard times. Sorry, I Love Sumo, your conjecture may be valid if all of this happened just now, but not, as it had, during a period of fairly robust economical conditions.

I think with "market" ilovesumo wasn't referring to the economy but rather to the worldwide "Sumo market" which is basically nonexistent. While knowing nothing about Clyde Newton or the Sumo World situation I highly doubt anyone could make a profitable English Sumo print magazine because there are just not enough possible purchasers. If Sumo is becoming less popular in Europe (I don't think the Eurosport decision was for no reason) despite all the success European rikishi recently had there is little reason to believe that's different in the U.S. regardless of some Sumo fans in Nebraska... Moreover print newspapers and magazines are generally having a really hard time these days not only since the last couple of months but since about 10 years which of course is closely connected to the rise of the Internet.

Look at this Forum: how many members here would be willing to pay for an English Sumo magazine if they get tons of pictures and information via the Forum that are naturally much more up-to-date than those that a monthly paper can provide?! Some I guess, but surely not enough to make a profit out of such a magazine, which is sad but true...

[sekitori]

Look at this Forum: how many members here would be willing to pay for an English Sumo magazine if they get tons of pictures and information via the Forum that are naturally much more up-to-date than those that a monthly paper can provide?! Some I guess, but surely not enough to make a profit out of such a magazine, which is sad but true...

If the magazine was as good as Sumo World was under the ownership of Andy Adams, I certainly would subscribe. I thought it was an excellent source of sumo information. Sumo World was founded by him around 1972 and he ran it until Clyde Newton took it over in July, 2000. I'm sure it was at least fairly profitable because a magazine doesn't last for 28 years unless it's making money. Even today with sources all over the Internet (including Sumo Forum), I believe that a printed sumo magazine published every two months to coincide with each basho, if it was the equal of Andy Adams' Sumo World, would have enough subscribers to succeed.

I started subscribing to Sumo World in 1980 and continued to receive it until November, 2001. After that issue, the magazine no longer arrived even though my subscription was still valid and had several issues remaining. There were absolutely no responses to my complaints so you can count me among the many subscribers who were cheated by Clyde Newton. However, very strangely, I received one more copy about a year and a half later in March, 2003. There was no reason given why I got that single copy and I became a bit optimistic that possibly Sumo World would start arriving again. However, my optimism didn't last very long. That was my last copy.

[Kotoviki]

I have gotten 2 current issues of Sumo World from Clyde after a mutual friend told him how pissed off I was after being one of those bilked but having not received a magazine in many years. I had paid some long term subscription, even though I was living in Japan, it was not always easy to get at the newsstands. Anyway, I hardly think the two issues I got were enough to make up for all that I paid before...

So like some others as much as I'd like to get it again regularly I'm leery of dishing out money again.

I'm still curious where all of OUR money went since I'm not nearly one of the only ones.

[Jakusotsu]

However, very strangely, I received one more copy about a year and a half later in March, 2003. There was no reason given why I got that single copy and I became a bit optimistic that possibly Sumo World would start arriving again. However, my optimism didn't last very long. That was my last copy.

Same situation here.

[Takamizakura]

My condolences to people who've been bilked by Clyde. I'm familiar with the situation of financially helping out a small magazine, only to never get the money back and never getting an apology or explanation (the editor basically disappeared).

It could be that Clyde lacks the organization to manage subscriptions, or worse, just using subscription money to pay off debts to printers, distributors, and advertisers.

If anyone's in mind to get Clyde off the air as a means of retribution, would writing a letter to NHK sumo director be useful at all? My cynical side would think that NHK would be indifferent to foreign broadcast gossip...

[Asashosakari]

If anyone's in mind to get Clyde off the air as a means of retribution, would writing a letter to NHK sumo director be useful at all? My cynical side would think that NHK would be indifferent to foreign broadcast gossip...

The whole thing has been well-known (and rehashed ad nauseam) for over half a decade now; I think it's safe to say that if Clyde is still in good graces with the sumo broadcast producers at this point, there's not much any type of campaign is going to achieve.

[Orion]

In the NHK mag this month Cylde was part of a sit down discussion with Mainoumi among others. The thing that shocked me was his age was given as 52 (I think).

I thought he was in his 70's!

No, I recall that in my earliest days of sumo watching at the old Kuramae Kokugikan, I used to see Clyde when he was still in school -- with his mother, I assume. Then as now, looking neither to right or to left, totally oblivious of everything but whatever he was going toward at the time.

Taking up some other points while I'm writing: His ability to speak Japanese, especially on sumo, is pretty good, though he speaks rather slowly and deliberately and his pronunciation of names and technical terms could sometimes be faulted (as could his transcription of Japanese words such as kachiGoshi and makeGoshi in his book).

As for the non-appearance of Sumo World except, apparently, on the Kokugikan bookstall: When Hiro gave it a plug on a previous occasion when he was on the show with Clyde, the producer was told by another play-by-play man and another commentator of the ethical problem of advertising a magazine that was not being sent to existing subscribers; but apparently the word didn't reach Hiro. When Hiro again tried to give it a plug on Day 13 this basho, the Day 14 people did their best to give a cautious heads-up by observing that the magazine did not appear to be widely on sale.

In the case of the NHK Stera magazine, this has no connection with the English broadcast, but there is a very long connection with the Sumo no Shumi no Kai, literally 'Sumo Hobby Association' but actually a veryhigh-level study group, of which Clyde has been a member for years, and a former editor of NHK Stera used to be a long-standing member but no longer comes along to meetings. Just a guess in this case -- of course as far as the Japanese sumo magazines are concerned, Clyde continues to be the nearest thing to a counterpart among foreigners.

FWIW,

Orion

[Jonsey]

Clyde is a fraud and a thief. He dishonestly took my and countless others' subscription money for the magazine and never delivered. He belongs in goal.

[yorikiried by fate]

No. Ball belongs in goal. Thief belongs in gaol.