Basho Talk - Nagoya 2017 (SPOILERS)

[Atenzan]

12 minutes ago, kuroimori said:

 

Shodai didn't know what hit him...

Give it a few hours and he'll be feeling it. That was a huge blow.

[pmac]

3 hours ago, pmac said:

i predict 2 kinboshis today, maybe 3....... but dont nail me on that if its wrong :D

remember where you saw it first :D

[specialweek 2]

1 hour ago, McBugger said:

Give it a few hours and he'll be feeling it. That was a huge blow.

He slipped not the face tap.

[maxjax]

15 minutes ago, specialweek 2 said:

He slipped not the face tap.

Yeah, Hakuho seemed surprised as well

[WAKATAKE]

Hokutofuji getting his first kinboshi in his first yokozuna match, they were talking about how he was studying Kakuryu a lot. 

Can't go a day yet without all seven Y/O winning. And could Kise be the first one to drop out?

And we're down to four undefeated rikishi by day 3, Hakuho, Yoshikaze, Onosho, and Nishikigi. With the Y/O performing the way they are Hak could very well be on his way to another zensho yusho.

[Morty]

Poor old Kotoshogiku has lost his one trick...

[Dapeng]

11 hours ago, Katooshu said:

Hak has 1 yusho and no jun-yusho over the past year. He's still very good, but the gap between him and the rest of the pack definitely shrunk, at least over that time. There has been no comparably unsuccessful stretch for him as a yokozuna...

 

10 hours ago, Morty said:

He also has a buggered elbow that is unlikely to heal and will hamper him in any future attempts to replicate past glories. He is still the greatest as far as I am concerned, but time catches up with everyone eventually

The gap between Hakuho and the other 6 joijens is definitely shrinking but still quite significant. I don't think anyone can seriously challenge him in 2-3 years. By the time he meet a serious challenge, it will be the time for him to retire.

[ALAKTORN]

4 hours ago, WAKATAKE said:

And we're down to four undefeated rikishi by day 3, Hakuho, Yoshikaze, Onosho, and Nishikigi. With the Y/O performing the way they are Hak could very well be on his way to another zensho yusho.

There’s Aoiyama too, no?

Mitakeumi was disappointing today, looked like he thought he was out already. :(

[Andreas21]

A lot of really enjoyable Sumo today!

Loved to see that Kagayaki had a great game plan today (vs. Ura). Is that the way, Ura will be handled from now on?

That was one of the bright moments of Goeido, focused, determined. Too good for Mitakeumi this time.

Great game plan also by Hokutofuji ... wait for the pull, and it came.

Tamawashi-Yoshikaze ... whao. Felt like in the end it was to fast for Tamawashi. He had all the chances when Yoshikaze lost balance for an instant. Probably he thought, I had him but I couldn't take it, and then he lost focus.

[robnplunder]

33 minutes ago, ALAKTORN said:

 

Mitakeumi was disappointing today, looked like he thought he was out already. :(

That was the most puzzling loss.  He gave up too quick.   Shodai on the other hand showed that it is his turn to outdo Mitakeumi.  He's off to a good start.

On another front ...  Onosho marched on among the little guys.   The other little ones (Ishiura, Ura, Takakeisho) looked pretty bad in their losses.  Heck, they got spanked.

Terunofuji won after the 1st two losses.  I've seen that before.  Can he reel off a bunch of wins after this?   He looks to be injured and a simple  kachikoshi will be a good result.

In Juryo, my favorite riskishi, Satoyama, has suffered 3 losses and may even end up in Makushita in the next basho.  He needs to rack up some wins starting now.   But the "old" man, Osunaarashi, is trying to stay on juryo, going 2-1 so far.   Aminishiki match looks ugly whether he wins or losses. 

 

[robnplunder]

5 hours ago, specialweek 2 said:

He slipped not the face tap.

Agreed.   He appeared to be slipped on one of the two white lines, if that's possible. 

[RabidJohn]

Some unexpected outcomes today!

What happened to Mitakeumi? It looked like he just stopped for some reason. And Ura's legendary balance deserted him...

On the bright side, congratulations to Hokutofuji on his hatsu kinboshi - his studiousness paid off - and also to Tochinoshin for keeping Kisenosato's left arm under control.

I agree that Hakuho looks well on for basho san kyu, but I'm not giving it to him just yet. He's going to get first-time opponents again this basho and he's slipped up against them quite recently (Takanoiwa and Arawashi). I wouldn't put it past Takakeisho or Hokutofuji to pull off an upset, and there's certainly the potential for 2-3 kyujo Y/O, which could bring Ura and Kagayaki into the mix.

Is it me, or has Yoshikaze lost his reckless abandon? He's looking a lot more controlled, and it suits him. I hope he can keep it up and force a promotion back to sekiwake.

 

 

[Jakusotsu]

1 hour ago, robnplunder said:

2 hours ago, ALAKTORN said:

Mitakeumi was disappointing today, looked like he thought he was out already. :(

That was the most puzzling loss.  He gave up too quick.

Not that puzzling to me. Caught off balance Mitakeumi realized immediately that Goeido had the superior position and the means to utilize it. No way to escape that loss.

[RabidJohn]

Re: the zabuton at Nagoya are fastened down.

I'm not calling it out as a myth, but they're not exactly fastened securely, are they?

Shodai got a few for beating Harumafuji yesterday and Hokutofuji got a few more today, and his wasn't the last bout of the day either...

 

[Jakusotsu]

@zabuton

The force is strong with the unbelieving.

[Churaumi]

4 hours ago, Morty said:

Poor old Kotoshogiku has lost his one trick...

That trick left him long ago...

[Kaminariyuki]

2 hours ago, RabidJohn said:

Re: the zabuton at Nagoya are fastened down.

I'm not calling it out as a myth, but they're not exactly fastened securely, are they?

Shodai got a few for beating Harumafuji yesterday and Hokutofuji got a few more today, and his wasn't the last bout of the day either...

 

I do enjoy seeing the "purple rain" but I probably wouldn't appreciate getting hit in the back of the head with a zabuton. It seems so un-Japanese. Particularly since it's completely obvious who threw theirs, now sitting on the ground.

[RabidJohn]

56 minutes ago, Thundersnow said:

I do enjoy seeing the "purple rain" but I probably wouldn't appreciate getting hit in the back of the head with a zabuton. It seems so un-Japanese.

Yes, it's against the rules, which does, on the surface, seem an un-Japanese thing, but as I've discovered in my time on this forum there are quite a few things in ozumo that are 'against the rules', like brightly coloured mawashi and not touching down with both hands, yet largely ignored.

Zabuton throwing is just another example, and it's become a ritual, which I think is actually a very Japanese trait. It's one of those juxtapositions of opposites so popular in Japanese culture: the crowd throw zabuton while the guy on the PA says "Please don't throw zabuton".

Edited July 11, 2017 by RabidJohn

[bettega]

Kaisei is ON FIRE! He destroyed Azumaryu while trying some new kimarite, something obscure called yorikiri (I'm not sure it is in the official kimarite list)! Just 5 more wins to go!

[Tiger Tanaka]

Unfortunate injury to Kakuryu, he looked pretty strong on days 1-2. Hokutofuji is making great impressions though and congrats to him on a well-earned first kinboshi.

Looking forward to Takayasu vs. Mitakeumi tomorrow, as Mitakeumi looks to bounce back from today's performance. Hokutofuji vs. Terunofuji should be fun as well. Also will be very interested in seeing how Takekeisho approaches Hakuho after getting some schooling from Kise and Harumafuji the past two days.

Lets go Kaisei, 3-0 and a great start for his march back to Makuuchi!

 

EDIT: Day 5 schedule was just posted. Yoshikaze vs. Hakuho, with both likely being 4-0. Yoshikaze is 1-14 in his career against Hakuho, if he pulled off the upset the zabuton will be everywhere.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Tiger Tanaka

[Burajirotono]

Hakuho beats Shodai like he was a mosquito.

Hokutofuji was amazing; 1 shot 1 kinboshi.

last 10 fights; 6-4 Toshino owns Kiseno.

[Wakaebala]

13 hours ago, Jakusotsu said:

Not that puzzling to me. Caught off balance Mitakeumi realized immediately that Goeido had the superior position and the means to utilize it. No way to escape that loss.

I saw the match from another angle, where you can see, that at the tachiai, Goeido's shoulder hits him in the face pretty hard... After that, it's a good thing he didn't suffer concussion... I think that's the reason for Mitakeumi's lack of "fighting spirit". He was simply trying to stay on his feet. 

[Michishige]

Wow...just saw Ura's day 4 fight. I'm really impressed that the gyoji (I believe it was Kimura Keinosuke) caught Onosho's foot going out before Ura's body flew over the tawara. The grumbling in the arena suggested that people were dissatisfied with the call, but the gyoji clearly got it right. 

 

If only baseball were adjudicated as well, I'd...well, no, I still wouldn't watch it. 

[Wakaebala]

And today another hard tachiai for  Mitakeumi.... he was just nowhere against Takayasu. 

[Wakaebala]

Hakuho, the mighty lion-tamer! 
How could he make himself any more superior? 
School time for Takakeisho. He finally initiated a very bold and strong attack, but Hakuho could easily stop him, and then took Takakeisho for a walk...