Another heya is out due to a positive COVID test, this time Hanaregoma which is the home of Ichiyamamoto. This is a real shame, as he had racked up an excellent score this basho, and was likely headed for double digits. It seems their oyakata turned in a positive test, and now the entire stable gets to sit out the rest of the basho. Given how virulent Omicron variants are, it may be the case that several more positive tests will show up in the next day or two. With Ichiyamamoto out, Nishikifuji improves to 7-2 and maintains his position in the leading group.

On the clay, the group in the lead has narrowed to six rikishi with 7-2 scores, spanning a range from the Yokozuna down to Maegashira 17e.

Highlight Matches

Chiyomaru defeats Hidenoumi – I will hand it to Chiyomaru – when he decides on a match plan, he seems to be willing to try it over and over without variation until it actually produces results or he hits they clay. He alternates a double arm nodowa and pulling against Hidenoumi. I think I counted two and one half cycles of that. The half was because Chiyomaru just got the nodowa part in, and shoved Hidenoumi out. Chiyomaru at 3-6 now by oshidashi.

Tsurugisho defeats Myogiryu – This match started with both men attacking high; faces, necks and shoulders. As is frequently the case, there was not much effect except to annoy their opponent. Myogiryu had his hands near Tsurugisho’s neck and decided “Hey, let’s pull him forward”. I think it was one big hopping step for Tsurugisho to blast Myogiryu straight into the front row. Tsurugisho up to 4-5 by 190kg of oshitaoshi.

Chiyoshoma defeats Yutakayama – I really like Chiyoshoma’s tachiai today, he hit hard with his shoulder and went straight into a combo attack against Yutakayama’s neck and face. There did not seem to be any intent to move Yutakayama back, it was just to make Yutakayama respond in kind. As Yutakayama reacted, in went the left hand under Yutakayama’s defense. Yutakayama was not just caught, he was in no position to counter with any kind of grip of his own. Chiyoshoma kept it that way, not letting Yutakayama have kind of offense at all. Yutakayama tried to change his grip, and at that moment Chiyoshoma surged forward and finished him, improving to 4-5 by yorikiri.

Takarafuji defeats Oho – We get a big strength and endurance match from these two, and that is how it should be. Oho tries to dial up the power for a win in the first few moments, but he finds that he has been captured and is stalemated in the center of the dohyo. This is Takarafuji’s brand of sumo – “Defend and extend”. Wear the other guy down moment by moment. But eventually Takarafuji decided he had worn Oho down long enough. He raised Oho up, changed his grip, and walked him out to end the day 4-5 by yorikiri.

Terutsuyoshi defeats Daiamami – With his sixth loss on the dohyo and the 2 days he missed, Daiamami is now make-koshi, and at Maegashira 16w, is almost certainly headed back to Juryo. Given that his sumo has been poor since returning from kyujo, I wonder why he did not just rest up his injury and fight his way back in September. Terutsuyoshi decided to give us a show as well, picking Daiamami’s leg to win by ashitori, increasing his score to 3-6.

Kotoshoho defeats Onosho – Onosho was on the offense, and was having his way with Kotoshoho up to the moment where Onosho pushed forward to take Kotoshoho out of the ring. With an arm hold, Kotoshoho pivoted into a kotenage, and managed to keep his feet long enough to see Onosho hit the clay. Both end the day at 5-4.

Nishikigi defeats Midorifuji – Midorifuji showed a lot of energy and drive today, but simply could not move Nishikigi in any way. He could not move Nishikigi back, or find a way to get any kind of mawashi grip. Points to Nishikigi for reducing this to a simple mass vs mass contest, which greatly favored himself. With Midorifuji’s arm barred, Nishikigi walked Midorifuji back and threw him out of the ring by kimedashi, improving to 7-2 and maintaining his position in the leader group.

Chiyotairyu defeats Tochinoshin – Last night in the preview, I guessed that Chiyotairyu’s tradition “stand him up / pull him down” may not work against Tochinoshin, given how many times he has faced Chiyotairyu. Well, I was wrong. it worked a treat. Chiyotairyu picks up a much needed win to advance to 6-3 by hatakikomi.

Okinoumi defeats Meisei – That looked more like a sloppy practice match than honbasho. Meisei seemed to have just given up on the third exchange, and just said, “well balls, I will just give him a lame pull”. Okinoumi was happy to absorb that and push Meisei out. Okinoumi now at 4-5 thanks to the resulting oshidashi.

Tobizaru defeats Shimanoumi – I am impressed with how much fight Shimanoumi brought to this match, given how poorly he has been doing for most of the July tournament. Sadly there is no way he was going to “out frantic” Tobizaru, who matched him move for move and absorbed it all. Shimanoumi tired, resulting in the two leading against each other in the center of the ring. Tobizaru got bored with that soon enough, and out came the leg sweep for the second day in a row. It did not completely connect, but disrupted Shimanoumi’s balance enough that he could bring him down. Shimanoumi now make-koshi at 1-8, Tobizaru maintains his position in the leader group with 7-2.

Kotoeko defeats Aoiyama – TIMMMBERRR! Kotoeko makes just a minor shift to his left following the initial contact at the tachiai, and catches Big Dan surging forward. With that much mass in motion, it is a tough to change direction mid stride. Aoiyama toppled forward as Kotoeko seemed disappointed to not being able to continue the fight. He wins by tsukiotoshi and is 5-4.

Hokutofuji defeats Sadanoumi – A good initial hit, but both men lost traction and fell together, with Sadanoumi touching down first. They decided to call it oshitaoshi, and Hokutofuji gets the win to improve to 4-5.

Ichinojo defeats Kiribayama – It does my heart good to see Ichinojo bounce back and win again. He took the fight to Kiribayama, who quickly got an up close experience of just how much trouble an enormous and genki Ichinojo can be. Kiribayama tried a few offensive moves, but Ichinojo is just too big, and has good hand placement today. Ichinojo engages forward PTO and drives Kiribayama out by yorikiri to hold position in the leader group at 7-2.

Hoshoryu defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi missed his mark at the tachiai, and found himself defending against Hoshoryu’s sumo. Hoshoryu caught Tamawashi out of position, and established control of the inside and went to work. Hoshoryu was hitting well, and the third combo sent Tamawashi out by oshidashi. Hoshoryu improves to 5-4.

Daieisho defeats Ura – Daieisho was no going to rush forward against Ura, and that was probably a wise move. So the tachiai was an odd one (usually is against Ura), and we did not see the big push inside to set up any thrusting attacks. Staying at distance, Daieisho nipped and picked at Ura until he got him off balance, and employed a hatakikomi to finish Ura off. Daieisho improves 5-4.

Kotonowaka defeats Wakatakakage – Wakatakakage got the better of the tachiai, and went on the attack. Kotonowaka did mange to get his right hand inside, and deep on Wakatakakage’s belt. Wakatakakage surged forward, broke Kotonowaka’s grip and looked to be setting up a throw. Kotonowaka rallied, shut down that throw and surged forward to send Wakatakakage out by yorikiri. Kotonowaka takes the win in this “battle of the waka” to improve to 7-2,s staying with the leader group.

Shodai defeats Abi – We saw it again today, Shodai gets in trouble, something switches on, and he’s an Ozeki again. I almost think there are two Shodai (Shodais? what is the plural of Shodai? Suggestions in comments pleasE) in there, a lesser Shodai and a greater Shodai. We saw the lesser one quite a bit in the first week, and he started this match (and yesterday’s too) before the Uber-Shodai came in and won. Abi was attacking in his traditional style, and a sudden power move pushed Abi aside and down to give Shodai the match. Both end the day at 5-4, and remain squarely in the funnel.

Takakeisho defeats Wakamotoharu – Ozeki Takakeisho made fast work of Wakamotoharu, as he could not risk having Wakamotoharu set up any kind of mawashi grip. Takakeisho improves to 6-3 by tsukiotoshi.

Terunofuji defeats Endo – Endo really put maximum effort into this match, and took the fight to Terunofuji. But watch the Yokozuna break Endo’s double inside grip moments after he set it up. With his hold on Terunofuji trashed, the Yokozuna counter attacks and bodily gives Endo the jolly heave-ho off the side of the dohyo. It’s clear Terunofuji is hurt, but you have to admire his brass to mount the dohyo each day and beat all comers. Oshidashi win and Terunofuji remains the strongest bid for the Emperor’s cup on Sunday at 7-2.

With the middle day of the basho behind us, it’s time to look forward to next weekend, and who will be contending for the cup. At the moment, the entire Makuuchi yusho arasoi is as big of a mess as Shikimori Inosuke’s officiating. There is a group of 7 rikishi who are 1 win ahead of the edge of the “Darwin’s Funnel”, and it’s not a stretch to imagine that half of them may fall back into the funnel before this coming week is done. At the moment there is no real “leader” in the yusho race, just some scores that qualify people to possibly contend if they can continue to win. I am sure the scheduling team will work to whittle that down starting… well… now.

The list of 7:

• Y1e Terunofuji
• M2e Kotonowaka
• M2w Ichinojo
• M6w Tobizaru
• M8w Nishikigi
• M13e Ichiyamamoto
• M17e Nishikifuji

On that list, only Yokozuna Terunofuji has prior yusho experience, and at this point should be considered the favorite to eventually take the cup. But be aware that the winning score is likely to be fairly low. As it is, it can’t be more than 13-2, and I think an 11-4 is quite possible.

What We Are Watching Day 9

Hidenoumi vs Chiyomaru – Hidenoumi visits from Juryo, and he’s 3 wins away from a kachi-koshi and a return to the top division. He’s usually competitive against Chiyomaru, who is struggling right now, so this may be a day when Hidenoumi picks up a valuable win. Chiyomaru at 2-6 is more or less locked in for a make-koshi and a rapid return to Juryo unless he suddenly finds some sumo at the bottom of that extra bowl of ramen at the train station.

Myogiryu vs Tsurugisho – Likewise, Tsurugisho is in deep trouble starting today at 3-5. To hit 8 wins he would need to take 5 of the remaining 7 matches, and given how he has been unable to win by power or guile this July, it’s not very likely at all. Worse yet, he has not beaten Myogiryu in either of his prior attempts.

Yutakayama vs Chiyoshoma – We saw some return to henka action from Chiyoshoma on day 8, and it was a complete dud. Hopefully he won’t deploy that crummy stuff again this basho. I mean, it’s nice to revisit the classics, but I thought his more recent sumo was better. Yutakayama, at 4-4, is squarely in the middle of the funnel, and I would assume he is headed for a 7-7 record to start day 15.

Ichiyamamoto vs Nishikifuji – Time to thin the crowd at 6-2! Both of these guys are in the somewhat-leader group, and by the end of the day only one of them will remain. I like Ichiyamamoto’s chances here. His Abi-zumo clone seems to be working well enough, and he has been giving his opponents a jolly thrashing before sending them out or down to the clay. He also holds a 4-1 career record against Nishikifuji.

Oho vs Takarafuji – Oho can escape the funnel with a win today. That’s precisely why he gets to fight Takarafuji. The best result for the Darwin outcome is for Oho to lose to Takarafuji, and both of them to move closer to the middle of the funnel at the end of the day. Oho won their only prior match, but I don’t really think that’s too indicative.

Terutsuyoshi vs Daiamami – Terutsuyoshi at 2-6 may get the opportunity to hand injured Daiamami his make-koshi today with a win. They are fairly evenly matched when they are both healthy, but Daiamami has a bad ankle right now, and may as well own up to the fact that he will have a spot on the Juryo barge of the damned.

Kotoshoho vs Onosho – Onosho can and should win this match. He is 3-0 against Kotoshoho, and I see no reason for that to change today. So a big hit early and a lot of forward power. Kotoshoho matches have resulted in monoii quite a few times in the past week, will we have another today?

Midorifuji vs Nishikigi – Nishikigi is another member of the 6-2 quasi leader crowd. He has a match with Midorifuji who is at 5-3, but also has a solid history of beating Nishikigi on the clay. Their last match was in May, with Midorifuji winning with a katasukashi on day 13. It would be wonderful to see Midorifuji deliver one of those again.

Tochinoshin vs Chiyotairyu – Two men at the top edge of the funnel with 5-3. The winner will likely escape as long as they can win their match tomorrow as well. They have a 10 year history that includes 16 fights, with the two prior fights this year being split 1-1. I was happy to see Chiyotairyu’s cannonball tachiai on day 8, but I don’t think he will try to deploy it against Tochinoshin today. But do look for a “stand him up / slap him down” combo.

Okinoumi vs Meisei – Meisei at the top edge of the funnel at 5-3 takes on Okinoumi at the bottom edge of the funnel at 3-5. This could push both of them out of the funnel if Meisei should win. The wrinkle being that he has only beaten Okinoumi once in 10 tries.

Shimanoumi vs Tobizaru – On paper it looks like this should be a contest. But given how poorly Shimanoumi has been fighting, and that Tobizaru is rightfully part of the leader squad, I think this is going to be a one sided affair. Should Shimanoumi lose today, it’s make-koshi for him. Should he win, well, he pulls Tobizaru out of the leader group.

Aoiyama vs Kotoeko – Ultra-mega-funnel-match. Both are 4-4, they have a 5-4 career record, and as a bonus it’s the always delightful big man / little man sumo contest. Note that Kotoeko is not really small, and Big Dan is bigger than most.

Hokutofuji vs Sadanoumi – The tough part about being in the funnel is that when you are at 3-5, the schedulers are trying to give you a win just to keep you in the funnel. So the best Hokutofuji can hope for right now is to remain on track for a 7-7 at the end of day 14. Of course he could take a loss today, and then he and Sadanoumi would be on the make-koshi path together.

Kiribayama vs Ichinojo – I think the big question I have is – can Ichinojo rally? He’s had two losses in a row, and I am quite certain his mental state is below where it was last week. For someone like Ichinojo, being in the right frame of mind is essential to winning these matches. Week 1 showed that he has all of the tools a rikishi needs to dominate even the toughest opponents right now. But the will do to so must be in place. If he’s not mentally ready to win, he’s going to eat loss #3 courtesy of Kiribayama today.

Hoshoryu vs Tamawashi – Another grand funnel match. Ideally (for the sake of the funnel) Tamawashi would win this one, with both ending the day at 4-5. For this to happen, Tamawashi needs to limit Hoshoryu’s mobility and prevent his escape from the expected Tamawashi tsuki barrage.

Ura vs Daieisho – I do tend to focus on the funnel, and how it’s a cruel instrument designed to prevent rikishi from reaching their kachi-koshi before the final weekend. But we have Ura, who just seems to be taking it all in stride, looking at it one day at a time, and generally a joy to watch. Daieisho tends to get Ura caught with a couple of his “mega-thrusts” to the face or the chest, and send the pink wonder flying. But it’s also true that Daieisho’s sumo tends to see his arms and hands linger near his opponent, giving Ura an option for his grab-and-tug sumo.

Wakatakakage vs Kotonowaka – A loss today would likely knock Kotonowaka out of the leader herd. Wakatakakage has a 4-1 career advantage over the Sadogatake man, and unless some sort of slippiotoshi happens in the opening moments of the fight, this could be the big brawl of the day.

Abi vs Shodai – I want to see the “Wall of Daikon” again today, please. Shodai, stop being a punk and break out the Ozeki sumo. You need 4 of the last 7 matches to be wins, so you can do this one. Just have to focus and be powerful. Now watch Abi give him a face full of meaty two hand thrust and send him into the front row.

Takakeisho vs Wakamotoharu – We all know that Wakamotoharu is going to sacrafice everything to get a handhold on Takakeisho’s mawashi. If he does, he should be able to win the match. What amazes me is these two have fought before, in Sandanme. In 2015. Way to reach back into the archives, scheduling crew.

Terunofuji vs Endo – There is no way Endo should pose too much of a threat to Terunofuji right now. I am certain that Endo will get a belt hold, and the instant he does he will be captured by the Yokozuna. Should he and Endo lock up in a battle hug, I expect Terunofuji to dismantle Endo a piece at a time before finishing him off.

Welcome to nakabi! The middle day of the basho falls on a Sunday, and it means that we are half way to the awarding of the emperor’s cup. In normal times, we would start our leader board coverage at this point, but I am going to say it’s not really a good idea just yet, as there actually is no yusho race on day 8. As predicted earlier in the week, any attempt at a leader board would intersect with the Darwin Funnel, which is routing as many rikishi as possible to 7-7 scores to start day 15. The only thing we can report on the leader board is Ichinojo is ahead by 1, with 7 rikishi including Yokozuna Terunofuji one win behind. I don’t personally expect Ichinojo to take the cup. In fact I expect him to start dropping matches starting yesterday. He will finish quite well, I predict. Maybe even double digits, but he would be hard pressed to take the cup, unless some other people pick up more losses.

On the subject of Mitakeumi’s COVID-kyujo. I expect he will be re-set of September as a kadoban Ozeki. Maybe he will be in better condition then. News today is that the entire Dewanoumi heya underwent PCR testing (more accurate), and Mitakeumi was positive for the virus. He last fought Ichinojo, so there is a small chance that COVID is now circulating among the top ranked men in sumo. Talk about a nightmare scenario!

There are some solid matches today, and I am hoping we get to see some good action on the clay.

Funnel scores for the end of day 8: 5-3, 4-4, 3-5. Anyone with one of those scores are inside the funnel. Above that on the kachi-koshi path, below that on the make-koshi path.

What We Are Watching Day 8

Onosho vs Daishoho – Daishoho visits from Juryo to fill the banzuke gap. He has fought against Onosho 6 times in the past, and has only managed 1 win – back in 2016. Now at 4-3, Onosho is still in the Darwin funnel, but he seems to finally be on balance, and once that happens I expect he should be able to win matches. They have not fought since 2019.

Chiyomaru vs Oho – As the last man on the banzuke, Chiyomaru will be headed back to Juryo with anything short of 8 wins. So he’s got to get his sumo in order and start bringing in the wins. Oho has yet to really show us much in the way of quality sumo, so maybe Chiyomaru can get the first win of his comeback campaign today.

Myogiryu vs Daiamami – I am certain the idea behind Daiamami returning from kyujo was to pick up enough wins to cushion the fall, or maybe even keep himself in the top division. Short of COVID kyujo, I don’t see that happening. His ankle is still not up to the demands of top division sumo, and he is gambling with a chance of a more serious mechanical injury. My guess in Myogiryu wins this one and inches closer to escaping the funnel.

Ichiyamamoto vs Tsurugisho – Ichiyamamoto has a chance to escape the funnel today if he can win over Tsurugisho, who has not beaten him in 4 attempts. Ichiyamamoto is fighting well enough this July that I think 8 wins will happen and maybe double digits.

Nishikifuji vs Chiyoshoma – Nishikifuji can likewise escape the funnel with a win today over Chiyoshoma. Chiyoshoma is sadly in the group of “fighting well but not winning enough” that has been plaguing the top division for at least the last year. His mechanics look good, but he really can’t finish his opponents. I would give a slight edge to Nishikifuji today.

Yutakayama vs Takarafuji – Takarafuji might also escape the funnel today, into the bad side of things headed for make-koshi next Sunday. If he loses to Yutakayama, he’s 2-6. They have a tied 3-3 career record, but right now Yutakayama is fighting slightly better.

Shimanoumi vs Terutsuyoshi – Grim match. Both are 1-6, and the only good thing coming out of this match is the winner will get their second white star of July. Shimanoumi has a 12-4 career record against Terutsuyoshi, so you might think this one is a gimme for him. But I look at it as both are nowhere near their normal in terms of power or skill, so it’s a battle of the damaged.

Tochinoshin vs Midorifuji – Midorifuji at 5-2 has a lot of motivation to extend his 2-0 career record over Tochinoshin. That 2-0 surprises me, as I think Midorifuji is small enough that Tochinoshin could just lift him up and move him around like a piece of furniture. But I guess this kind of furniture fights back.

Kotoshoho vs Nishikigi – Nishikigi can also escape the funnel to the kachi-koshi path with a win over Kotoshoho. Kotoshoho has a 5-2 career record against him, so maybe this is a test to see just how much above “average” Nishikigi is fighting right now.

Okinoumi vs Chiyotairyu – 17 career matches, with a 10-7 in favor of Chiyotairyu. Both Chiyotairyu (4-3) and Okinoumi (3-4) are struggling right now, so maybe they will make quick work of this sumo stuff and go have a beer to ease their injuries.

Meisei vs Hokutofuji – Another 4-3 / 3-4 match up, with Hokutofuji having a slight career edge over Meisei. I don’t think that Hokutofuji has been fighting very well this month. I have seen him exploit mistakes and openings well enough, but I have not seen him executing the fierce combos of his pre-covid days. I wonder if that form of Hokutofuji can make a comeback…

Kotoeko vs Tobizaru – A Tobizaru win today, and he escapes the funnel, and may be counted as part of the leader group once it’s possible to describe any rikishi that way. He had a narrow 4-3 career advantage over Kotoeko, but I know Kotoeko is up to the task of shutting down the monkey sumo and tossing Tobizaru out.

Aoiyama vs Ura – Some great big man / little man sumo here, though at Ura’s current bulk he is not quite little any more. He does like to play grab-and-tug with Aoiyama, who always leaves an arm or hand where it does not belong in these matches. These are ready attachment points for Ura’s built in chaos engine, and it can cause a man the size of Aoiyama to become both airborne, and a penguin a same time. Though the penguin part is purely theoretical.

Kotonowaka vs Ichinojo – One of the indications of a champion is taking a loss and not letting it disrupt your mental fortitude in the following contest. This has never been Ichinojo’s strong suit. Kotonowaka has beaten him 3 times out of the 4 career matches, and will give him the business today. Can Ichinojo steel his thoughts and continue to focus?

Hoshoryu vs Kiribayama – Someone decided to have some fun with numbers. Everything about this match is 3-4. Both rikishi’s tournament scores, their career match record, the number of perfume soaked letters they get every day… all of it. I am not sure who I favor to win this one, but I am very eager to see how well they fight this July.

Sadanoumi vs Abi – After that masterful flying lesson for Takakeisho day 7, I kind of want Abi back at Sekiwake. So let’s cheer him on to as many wins as he can place onto the scoreboard. No offense to Sadanoumi, but he’s really struggling right now, and I think that Abi may make fast work of him today.

Wakatakakage vs Daieisho – Both of these guys are in the funnel, and are at least 2 consecutive wins away from exiting. They both start the day at 4-3, and they have been trading wins back and forth every other match since last year at this time. If they follow the pattern, its Wakatakakage’s turn to win this time.

Takakeisho vs Endo – Endo is going to try for a belt grip. If he gets it, he may help the Ozeki take to the skies for a second consecutive day. Flying tadpoles. What will they think of next?

Tamawashi vs Shodai – Shodai has dug himself a very big hole, larger then the hole that you would normally find a Daikon inside of. Does he just ride the walrus and head for Ozekiwake? Or can he tough it out and find 5 more wins in the last 8 days of the basho? Start with Tamawashi (11-9 advantage) and work up from there, I suppose.

Terunofuji vs Wakamotoharu – Terunofuji is giving it everything he can muster, which is not a whole lot right now. But I do compliment hm on toughing it out. 5-2 is a rough score for a Yokozuna on nakabi, but it’s what he has. He beat Wakamotoharu in their only prior match. Wakamotoharu likes yotsu-zumo, so I do hope he takes a hold of Terunofuji’s black mawashi.