Basho Talk - Nagoya 2015 +++ Spoiler alert! +++

[Jakusotsu]

The more I watch this basho, the more I like a Kakuryu yusho.

[Monnodo]

very disappointed with the sumo today

ichinojo - sadanoumi was first good bout in my eyes

The Tokitenku-Satoyama bout was really good too.

It was more like Bökh than Sumo.

I thought the same. Maybe Satoyama should train for Naadam and teach the mongolians

what it feels like being dominated in your own national sport ;)

[Kintamayama]

Hakuho didn't even break a sweat. NOT!

Won.

[ALAKTORN]

Seemed like his foot slipped, he reached too far and then Tochiozan was there to make sure he kept going that way. His hand fell so fast, had to be mostly him slipping and overreaching.

I rather think he put his hand down to not fall face-first on the dohyō. Maybe if it was a match against his fellow yokozunae he’d have tried to rebalance himself because there’s more dignity in losing falling down against a yokozuna than there is against a sekiwake. I really think Hakuhō cares about these things a lot more than he does about winning at this point in his career.

[bettega]

I'll miss Giku :'-(

[Masumasumasu]

Hakuho didn't even break a sweat. NOT!

Won.

And without viciously striking anyone after the match!

[d_golem]

I don't even Hakuho can think that many things at once in the split second he realized that he's falling and losing. His stunned face said it all. Most likely all he thought was "D@@@@@ng it!!!" *hand hits the dohyo*

[kuroimori]

Wakanosato's intai is coming closer and closer as he also lost today against Dewahayate visiting from Makushita.

At 3-9 he normally would need to win all 3 remaining bouts to remain in Juryo.

[Masumasumasu]

Kitataiki was robbed!!

The shimpan are blind. Thank G-d they don't drive cars.

[inhashi]

oh my... toes vs heel :o

how, seriously, HOW do shimpan catch these??

[kuroimori]

Wakanosato's intai is coming closer and closer as he also lost today against Dewahayate visiting from Makushita.

At 3-9 he normally would need to win all 3 remaining bouts to remain in Juryo.

...and his veteran friend Kyokutenho just maneuvered himself in the same dangerous situation.

I really hope he can pull off one more veteran vintage vengeance in his last 3 bouts to celebrate his 41st birthday in the top division in September. Gambareee!!!

[krindel]

Wakanosato's intai is coming closer and closer as he also lost today against Dewahayate visiting from Makushita.

At 3-9 he normally would need to win all 3 remaining bouts to remain in Juryo.

...and his veteran friend Kyokutenho just maneuvered himself in the same dangerous situation.

I really hope he can pull off one more veteran vintage vengeance in his last 3 bouts to celebrate his 41st birthday in the top division in September. Gambareee!!!

I seriously doubt he could pull that off any more ;(. It seems that time has finally caught up with him. Only question is if he'll call it quits, or fight on in Juryo.

[kuroimori]

A shikona change is needed:

New shikona: Tochokezan

Now guess the current shikona...

Edited July 23, 2015 by kuroimori

[luispereira]

nicee kakuryu! very strong

[grigorian]

I´m officially in love whit sumo. Awesome yusho final days.

[inhashi]

wow Kakuryu. Indeed yokozuna. (Showing off...)

[Adil]

Another failed henka today. For me, one of the best things in sumo is when a henka fails big time. Good win for Endo. What looked like a career ending/threatening knee injury doesn't seem to be bothering him at all. I don't know if it is pain-killers or the good old injury hiding routine (or a combination of both), but let's face it: Endo looks totally OK. Whether it comes back to bite him later remains to be seen.

Toyohibiki has lost eight in a row? As Balki says to Larry in Perfect Strangers, "Wow, cousin! When you come clean, you really leave a ring around the tub". When he goes on a losing streak, he really goes to town with them.

Osunaarashi, dinged up and all, gets his kachikoshi. Props to him, and here's hoping for an injury free career for Boody.

What a bummer! Gagamaru will have to start his ozeki run from scratch.

Let me get in line with all the others to sign up for the "What's wrong with Ichinojo?" club membership. As others have noted, his losses look really stupid. Could be because of some injury, or it could be a simple case of his opponents having figured him out. In any case, let's take a deep breath. He's still a baby. To put things in perspective, try comparing his astronomical rise to the rise of what some might consider to be the three most exciting new prospects of the last few years: Terunofuji, Osunaarashi & Endo. Ichinojo is younger than all three of them. Terunofuji made his debut three years before Ichinojo; Osunaarashi two years, & Endo a year and a half. Ichinojo will surely have his 'incubation' period. Remember, this is only his second makekoshi of his short career. I guess that 13-2 in his first makuuchi basho had a lot of people (including myself) over-excited. It's time now to step back and let the kid take his knocks on his way up. Only time will tell if he'll turn into an unstoppable force or an Orora.

What's with all the boos after Goeido's victory? Was the arena full of Takekaze fans or something? I'm neither a Goeido fan nor Goeido hater, but he just fought smart; Takekaze goes for the pull straight after a slight push most of the time. It's not like Goeido henkaed or anything. I must say I'm bewildered.

How about that bout between Kakuryu and Terunofuji? Incredible. What is most impressive about this fight and the Hakuho/Terunofuji bout the other day is that the Yokozuna have to go all out and come up with their best performances to beat Terunofuji. Props to Kakuryu today. Great mixture of power, speed and guile in there. The strength of his grip on the mawashi is just out of this world.

There are some bouts that are just way too lopsided. It is one thing to have a bad record against someone, but some guys regularly get thrashed by some particular guys. Take Hakuho/Kotoshogiku, for example: After today, it's 45/4!!! And not just the record, but the bouts themselves. Another such 'lopsided fights' phenomenon is between Kakuryu and Takekaze. It's 19/0 for Kakuryu, which in itself is amazing, but just watch their matches: It looks like a bully from tenth grade is just unleashing his fury at a 5th grader. I'm curious to know what others here at the forum think: what are your favorite 'lopsided pairings'?

Edited July 23, 2015 by Adil

[lackmaker]

Nationalities aside it's surely good for the sport to see Terunofuji have a strong debut as ozeki. But also,despite his efforts,appropriate that he's still short of the level of the yokozuna. His time will come.

[Masumasumasu]

I think that the heat (and humidity) in Nagoya is getting to Ichinojo.

[CT3*]

Didn't seem to me that Terunofuji forced Hakuho to "go all out" in their match.

Hakuho had Terunofuji pretty much neutralized in the first 5 seconds and never seemed in danger of losing that bout, imo. After the tachi-ai, Hakuho maneuvered Teru upright on the left side and that negated Teru's ability to gain his own left outer grip. From there it seemed that Hakuho was pretty cautious about not making a mistake, kept Teru off balance enough to prevent Teru from effectively countering and simply took his time...as he's been doing more so this basho. Great effort by Terunofuji but better technique by Hakuho. I really look forward to their future bouts!

[lackmaker]

I think that the heat (and humidity) in Nagoya is getting to Ichinojo.

Looks like a loss of confidence to me.

[Seijakuzan]

I'm curious to know what others here at the forum think: what are your favorite 'lopsided pairings'?

Gravity vs Kotooshu - dude had some serious crash landing like noone else.

Or maybe Toyohibiki vs himself.

[Adil]

Gravity vs Kotooshu - dude had some serious crash landing like noone else.

Or maybe Toyohibiki vs himself.

Toyohibiki vs himself! Haha.

As for Kotooshu's crash landings...I've been meaning to bring this up for some time but just never got around to it. I joined the fray very late and only saw the last couple of years of his career, but even in those few years, I sometimes felt this about Kotooshu: He was very reckless when it came to pushing people off the dohyo. Like, when he's got all the momentum in pushing a guy out, he didn't put the brakes on at the tawara like guys usually do: He would just keep pushing like mad until both guys crashed out. Maybe it was just his fighting style, or because he had a grudge against some guys because he had to settle a score. Or it could simply be a case of my memories getting warped because of only one or two matches.

[Gurowake]

A shikona change is needed:

New shikona: Tochokezan

Now guess the current shikona...

I'd prefer Chokiozan.

[Benevolance]

As for Kotooshu's crash landings...I sometimes felt this about Kotooshu: He was very reckless when it came to pushing people off the dohyo. Like, when he's got all the momentum in pushing a guy out, he didn't put the brakes on at the tawara like guys usually do: He would just keep pushing like mad until both guys crashed out.

As a rebuttal, I'd point out Ikioi, who is often downright polite at the tawara, to the point that his opponent manages to sneak back into the match and win. That finishing instinct, to not let up on your opponent even when victory seems certain, is part of what separates the sanyaku guys from the meat grinders.