I could label today the “Mother of all Shimpan parades”. It seems that sumo fandom in Japan let it be know that the lax judging, crummy calls and lack of reviews of close matches were not the stuff of legends. So today we see the men in black decide that they are in fact going to be in charge and maybe supervise a bit more. The result – a lot of monoii. When in doubt, talk it out and let the chaps reviewing the replays have a second look. In general not a bad plan, but they may have over-compensated a bit today, and it really scrambled up the pacing of the top division matches.

With today’s action complete, we close out the weakest Act 2 that I can recall. We don’t really have a yusho race, we have a huge number of rikishi fighting their way through Darwin’s Funnel, and none of the Ozeki are better than a 50% win rate.

Highlight Matches

Tsurugisho defeats Azumaryu – This match featured a matta at the original start, which seems to have disrupted Tsurugisho’s original battle plan. He ended up with a fairly soft tachiai that gave Azumaryu a better grip. Tsurugisho dug in and managed to work into a double inside grip, and proceeded to over power Azumaryu with some simple but effective sumo. Tsurugisho improves to 7-3, and I would guess will make a bid to return to the top division for Nagoya in July. He finishes 7-3.

Myogiryu defeats Kotokuzan – Kotokuzan had zero offense today, giving Myogiryu complete control of the match, and a quick win. Myogiryu improves to 5-5 to remain in the middle of the funnel.

Midorifuji defeats Aoiyama – Midorifuji does yeoman’s work and knocks “Big Dan” Aoiyama out of the leader group. That was quite the opening combo from Midorifuji, who hit at the tachiai, grabbed over Aoiyama’s shoulder (he had to reach up quite a bit) and pulled down. The resulting katasukashi spun Aoiyama to the clay, giving Midorifuji his 6th win to finish act 2 at 6-4.

Kagayaki defeats Chiyoshoma – Chiyoshoma had a good tachiai, but as Kagayaki landed his second thrust combo against Chiyoshoma’s chest, Chiyoshoma tried to pull Kagayaki forward. That tossed aside any forward pressure, and opened the door to Kagayaki just running him out of the ring. Both end the day 4-6.

Ichiyamamoto defeats Kotoshoho – Ichiyamamoto nearly lost this at the tachiai, where he ended up stumbling forward a single step when Kotoshoho deflected his opening move. Kotoshoho responded with power, but with Ichiyamamoto to his side, he tossed Kotoshoho forward and then delivered the finishing push center mass. That’s kachi-koshi for Ichiyamamoto, and he remains part of the leader group.

Tochinoshin defeats Sadanoumi – Really impressive defense from Sadanoumi in this match. Given how incredibly strong Tochinoshin is, and he was able to go chest to chest at the tachiai, its a tall order to break out of his grip. Tochinoshin found on his third finishing attempt the leverage to swing Sadanoumi around to walk him out of the ring. There was a monoii to review Tochinoshin’s feet just prior to the win, but the judges up held the decision. Tochinoshin improves to 6-4.

Shimanoumi defeats Yutakayama – It must be damn frustrating to fight as Yutakayama this May. He had a strong opening, and landed multiple solid hits. But Shimanoumi stayed in bound, on his feet and fighting. Eventually Shimanoumi locked up with Yutakayama in the center of the ring, and went to wear Yutakayama down. Shimanoumi got a left hand hazu, right hand mawashi grip, and rolled Yutakayama into an uwatenage for the win. He’s now 6-4.

Terutsuyoshi defeats Meisei – Terutsuyoshi executed something a lot like a henka at the tachiai. I hesitate to call it a henka because your normal henka is a bit more organized than whatever that was. It worked out well enough, bamboozling Meisei and giving Terutsuyoshi a wide open attack lane. Terutsuyoshi dropped him a moment later to stave off make-koshi for today, and improve to 3-7.

Oho defeats Takarafuji – Takarafuji really had no sumo today, and provided little more than ballast for Oho’s thrusting attacks. Takarafuji is clearly hurt, and not able to hold ground at all, and was quickly shoved out. Oho advances to 5-5 and remains in the middle of the funnel.

Chiyotairyu defeats Kotoeko – Chiyotairyu attempts a hearty serving of denshamichi, ends up face down with Kotoeko flying westward. The gumbai went to Chiyotairyu, but it seems the shimpan have been rightly embarrassed by poor performance, and are calling more review sessions. So it was monoii time. Review showed Kotoeko out while Chiyotairyu was still in flight, so Chiyotairyu takes the win to finish the day 6-4.

Ura defeats Nishikigi – Ura had to know that Nishikigi would grapple straight into the tachiai. He also (like me) saw the katasukashi combo Midorifuji pulled off earlier in the day and thought “hey, that’s pretty cool”. So we get to see Ura execute more or less the same opening combo against Nishikigi. No surprise it worked just as well here as it did against Aoiyama, and Ura improves to 7-3.

Wakamotoharu defeats Okinoumi – Wakamotoharu’s left hand inside at the tachiai gave him control of the match, and he only needed 3 steps to walk Okinoumi back, and place him out of the ring. Fast work for Wakamotoharu, and he ends the day 6-4.

Takanosho defeats Endo – Endo opened strong, but seemed to pause for an awkward moment, which let Takanosho regroup and begin the counter attack. With good focus of power against Endo’s center mass, he took control of the match and quickly ran Endo out of the ring. Takanosho picks up his 8th win, is kachi-koshi, and maintains his share of the leader board.

Kotonowaka defeats Tamawashi – Big, aggressive sumo from both today. Tamawashi really delivered a lot of attack power, but points to Kotonowaka for taking the punishment and returning a lot of of it to Tamawashi. If you wanted to see two big guys basho the stuffing out of each other, this was the match. But in a deft move, Kotonowaka converted a Tamawashi forward surge into a quick trip to the clay, as he threw down Tamawashi to claim his 6th win. Both end the day 6-4.

Daieisho defeats Takayasu – Daieisho found himself overpowered at the tachiai, as Takayasu launched forward. The best Daieisho could do was turn to the side and pull with everything he could muster. They both went flying off the dohyo and the gumbai went to Daieisho. Of course with the embarrassment level near maximum for the shimpan, they were going to review this one too, so up on the dohoyo they went. Review showed Takayasu down first, giving Daieisho his 6th win to finish the day 6-4, and Takayasu his 8th loss to be make-koshi at 8-2 for Natsu.

Kiribayama defeats Abi – Kiribayama took a couple of big hits at the start of the match, but kept his feet, kept his balance as best he could, and positioned himself to dodge as much of Abi’s attacks as he could manage. Kiribayama’s evasion opened up a chance with Abi off axis and off balance, and Kiribayama slapped him down. He ends the day 7-3.

Hokutofuji defeats Takakeisho – Well, an immediate pull at the tachiai is a sure fire losing formula today for Takakeisho. He gets a rapid combo to the chest from Hokutofuji for his troubles, and is quickly pushed out of the ring. Hokutofuji staves off make-koshi for another day and improves to 3-7.

Wakatakakage defeats Shodai – I guess I should note that Shodai at least tried to rally after Wakatakakage completely dominated him for the first few moments of the match. But for whatever reason, Shodai could not muster the wall of daikon today, or any cartoon sumo, though you can see him try. Wakatakakage gently placed him outside of the ring to advance to 5-5.

Mitakeumi defeats Tobizaru – At least one of the Ozeki scored a win today. But it was Tobizaru who was the clear aggressor in the opening moments of the match, getting a right hand inside, and making Mitakeumi give ground. Once Tobizaru had a firm hold on Mitakeumi, he found that was not quite what he wanted after all. Mitakeumi consolidated his grip, positioned his feet and finished Tobizaru off. Both end the day at 5-5.

Terunofuji defeats Hoshoryu – Yes, I know Terunofuji looks a bit more unstable each day, but I found his resounding yoritaoshi of Hoshoryu both glorious and comforting. It’s the kind of finishing move worthy of this match, and it’s especially fun given the overflowing attitude on display day 9 from Hoshoryu. It’s as if the Yokozuna wanted to communicate, “Here kid, let me show you how we take out the trash at Isegahama”. Terunofuji improves to 7-3, one win behind the leaders.

It’s the end of act 2. I think this is the first time I have seen act 2 fail. The goal of act 2 is: narrow the field to find out who has what it takes to compete for the yusho, and to start sorting the survivors from the damned. I don’t think that the yusho race has actually formed yet. Sure there are a quad of punters with leading scores, but I don’t expect any of them to be in front on day 15. Who will be is a very interesting question indeed.

The only rikishi with prior yusho experience, Tamawashi, lost his day 9 match, and dropped back to join Terunofuji in the 6-3 group. If we imagine a future where either Terunofuji or Tamawashi win out, the most the yusho score could be would be 12-3. It think it’s far more likely the score will be 11-4 or maybe even 10-5.

I would be inclined to say that Terunofuji is still the favorite, but his lower body is so day-by-day that I would not be surprised to see him go kyujo some time later in week 2. That leaves us with Tamawashi, and one additional quite ugly fact. Takakeisho’s day 9 loss to Wakatakakage. It does appear that Wakatakakage put a hand on the dohyo in response to Takakeisho’s pull request, and everyone seemed to miss it. That means Takakeisho’s 5-4 might have been a 6-3, placing him along side Terunofuji and Tamawashi.

Lastly, there are still 23 people in the funnel at the start of day 10.

Ah, what a mess this tournament is.

Natsu Leaderboard

Well, the hunt group still intersects with the top end of the funnel.

Leaders: Takanosho, Aoiyama, Sadanoumi, Ichiyamamoto
Chasers: Terunofuji, Hoshoryu, Kiribayama, Tamawashi, Ura
Hunt Group: Too numerous to list

6 matches remain

What We Are Watching Day 10

Azumaryu vs Tsurugisho – Tsurugisho is up visiting from Juryo to check out the sights should he manage to get a kachi-koshi and punch his ticket to return. He’s up against funnel occupant Azumaryu, who is hoping to pick up 3 more wins in the next 6 days to get his first ever top division kachi-koshi. Tsurugisho had a 13-7 career record.

Myogiryu vs Kotokuzan – Kotokuzan is already make-koshi, has a single win, and has a 1-0 career advantage over Myogiryu, who needs 4 wins over the next 6 days to finish with a winning record. I think Myogiryu has a tough road, but today should be a win for him.

Aoiyama vs Midorifuji – Aoiyama continues to maintain his position in the leader group with a 7-2. He started the tourament winning 6 in a row, then lost two, and has bounced back with a win day 9. He is up against funnel resident Midorifuji at 5-4, the two have split their prior matches. An Aoiyama win today is kachi-koshi for him.

Kagayaki vs Chiyoshoma – Kagayaki is 2 losses away from the make-koshi that will take him back to Juryo after far too much banzuke luck keeping him in the top division. He’s 11-8 against Chiyoshoma, who needs 4 out of the last 6 wins to finish with a kachi-koshi.

Kotoshoho vs Ichiyamamoto – Ichiyamamoto is the lowest ranking man in the leader group at Maegashira 15. He has a 3-1 record against 5-4 Kotoshoho, and needs a win today to stay in the leader group. A win today will be kachi-koshi for him.

Sadanoumi vs Tochinoshin – The next guy up for kachi-koshi today is Sadanoumi, who is also part of the 4 strong leader group. He has a near even 4-5 record against Tochinoshin, and I think he’s going to struggle a bit with the match today. Tochinoshin needs 3 wins out of the last 6 days to confound mother nature and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at University of Tokyo Hospital to hit a second consecutive kachi-koshi.

Shimanoumi vs Yutakayama – A solid funnel match, we have 5-4 Shimanoumi looking to best 4-5 Yutakayama. Should Yutakayama manage a win today, he would bring both of them back to the middle of the funnel at 5-5. Should Shimanoumi win, he will have a day 11 chance to escape the funnel with an additional win.

Meisei vs Terutsuyoshi – Terutsuyoshi is one loss away from make-koshi, which would be his 4th in the last 5 tournaments. Meisei is part of the funnel group at 5-4, and needs to pick up 3 more wins for a quite welcome kahchi-koshi given his 1-14 record in Osaka. Terutsuyoshi has 5-3 career advantage, so he may stave off this 8th loss today.

Takarafuji vs Oho – Takarafuji picked up his first win on day 9, and I think everyone is hoping that he can pick up a few more and hopefully preserve his member of the top division. This is his first ever match against Oho, who needs to find 4 wins out of the final 6 to get to kachi-koshi.

Chiyotairyu vs Kotoeko – There is a lot on this match between two rikishi who share an even 6-6 career record. It’s 5-4 Chiyotairyu against 4-5 Kotoeko. In terms of keeping people inside the funnel, ideally there would be a Kotoeko win at the end of this match, placing both at 5-5, but frankly if Chiyotairyu can get a solid first hit, he is likely to carry the day.

Ura vs Nishikigi – Ura is one win behind the leader group, and I like his chances in the final week to finish with a double digit score. Will he be part of the final push for the cup? I don’t see it happening for him right now, but there is a lot of sumo between now and the end of Sunday.

Okinoumi vs Wakamotoharu – Another funnel group, we have 4-5 Okinoumi against 5-4 Wakamotoharu. We know that they will look to go chest to chest fairly early in the match, but I worry that Okinoumi may be low on mojo for this basho.

Endo vs Takanosho – The last of the leaders, yes the highest ranking rikishi in the leader group is Maegashira 4. Today he takes on fellow M4 rikishi Endo. Endo has a 4-2 career lead, but only a 4-5 record coming into day 10. I do think that needing 4 more wins will help to focus Endo and his sumo. Keep in mind Endo is the man who knocked Tamawashi out of the leader group on day 9. Can he repeat on day 10?

Tamawashi vs Kotonowaka – Speaking of Tamawashi, here he is against Kotonowaka, who like so many others this basho, is stuck in the funnel. Tamawashi has a 3-2 career record against Kotonowaka, so not much indication of an advantage there. I would think that Tamawashi is headed for a solid kachi-koshi, and should the score for the yusho dip low enough, he would have the benefit of having been in a prior yusho race (and the attendant stress) under his belt.

Takayasu vs Daieisho – Takayasu has a 10-4 career advantage over Daieisho, but comes in with a 2-7 record starting day 10, meaning a loss today by Takayasu would be make-koshi for him. Of course, he could defy expectations and win the last 6, and still take home a winning record. Of course, I don’t think Daieisho is ok with that.

Kiribayama vs Abi – Abi had a rough match on day 9, and he missed a solid chance to escape the funnel. I think that he will redouble his efforts to secure a win in his match today. Kiribayama leads him by 1 win, and could really use a win today to keep with the group one behind the leaders.

Hokutofuji vs Takakeisho – Takakeisho is more or less out of the competition for the yusho, thanks to a sloppy job officiating his day 9 match. He is, thankfully, up against Hokutofuji who may achieve his “Most powerful make-koshi in all of sumo” today if he can secure a loss against Takakeisho.

Wakatakakage vs Shodai – High interest match. Shodai needs to win 5 of the last 6 to save himself from kadoban. The guy is such a cartoon character that he just might do it. Of course his score might have been 2-7 at this point save for the blow call on day 8, but I am sure he is thankful for that extra white star. He has a 5-3 advantage over Wakatakakage, but it only matters if the “good” version of Shodai mounts the dohyo today to compete.

Mitakeumi vs Tobizaru – Mitakeumi needs to find 4 more wins over the last 6 matches. Given that two of those are Takakeisho and Terunofuji, he needs to take the next 4 matches, including today, to ensure that he is not kadoban in front of his home town crowd in July. He holds a 2-0 career record against Tobizaru.

Terunofuji vs Hoshoryu – Terunofuji has a 6-0 career record against Hoshoryu, and I am not going to expect a big stare down on day 10 like we saw him produce against Takayasu on day 9. Both are 6-3 to start the day, so the winner will remain in the group 1 behind the leaders.

The triumph of the under-card continues, as the leaders continue to be exclusively from the rank and file. I don’t expect any of them are going to face higher ranking opponents just yet, as I think the schedulers have decided to “let it ride” until day 11 and the start of act 3. There are 4 rikishi at 7-2 right now, and I don’t expect any of them is going to lift the cup on day 15. But if we look at the group that is at 6-3 at the end of today, the list of who might be the yusho winner is quite an interesting roster indeed.

Yesterday, fans were a bit outranged by Shodai’s win after the replay showed him out, but no monoii was called by the judges to review the call. I have accused the bulk of the rikishi of “just phoning it in” this basho, and maybe the judges are having a bit of that too. During a match between Kotonowaka and Hokutofuji, there was yet another call that should have been reviewed when the gyoji got it wrong. I recognize us Americans are used to slow motion instant replay and review of just about everything, but for sumo that is not yet the case. So over the years I have learned to just accept that mistakes are part of the process, and hope it does not happen in yusho deciding matches. But then, there was the matter of Wakatakakage’s hand hitting the clay in the middle of his match with Takakeisho…

Highlight Matches

Midorifuji defeats Chiyonokuni – Chiyonokuni had control of this match, following a bit of an early start from Midorifuji. This control lasted up until they moment both were exiting the ring, where Chiyonokuni let go of Midorifuji to break his fall with his left arm. Midorifuji stayed airborne a fraction of a second longer, and picked up the win. He improves to 5-4.

Oho defeats Kotokuzan – Kotokuzan still does not have any sumo to share, and gets stood up at the tachiai by Oho, then rammed back again and again. The final shove ends the match by tsukidashi, and that loss number 8 for Kotokuzan, he is make-koshi for Natsu. Oho improves to 4-5.

Meisei defeats Chiyotairyu – Meisei knew that Chiyotairyu was going for the “stand him up, pull him down” combo, and reacted correctly to the pull from Chiyotairyu. Surging forward he put Chiyotairyu on the clay with a yoritaoshi, sending Chiyotairyu tumbling off the clay. Both end the day at 5-4.

Sadanoumi defeats Kagayaki – Kagayaki has one moment of offense, a somewhat decent opening combo, but for some reason leaves his chest wide open, and Sadanoumi counters directly to center mass. From there is 3 quick steps to an oshidashi, as Sadanoumi maintains his share of the lead at 7-2.

Ichiyamamoto defeats Chiyoshoma – Ichiyamamoto connects his double arm thrust early, and Chiyoshoma never really had a chance to get started. Three steps later, Chiyoshoma is out and Ichiyamamoto maintains his share of the lead, also 7-2.

Azumaryu defeats Kotoshoho – I liked both men’s sumo today. A really well balanced match, with each finding and exploiting the other’s somewhat fractured offensive style. They started with an oshi-zumo exchange, and probed defenses, and eventually locked up chest to chest. Azumaryu set up a left hand grip, and held on with everything he could muster. Whent Kotoshoho did manage to break that grip, he was so off balance that he was an easy mark for an Azumaryu slap down. Both end the day 5-4.

Yutakayama defeats Terutsuyoshi – A clever move by Yutakayama got his left hand around the back of Terutsuyoshi, finding his mawashi knot. The rest of Yutakayama followed, and once behind Terutsuyoshi, he pushed him forward and out. Yutakayama claws his way back into the funnel at 4-5.

Shimanoumi defeats Myogiryu – Myogiryu prevented a straight up Shimanoumi attack, stalemating him and moving him to the center of the dohyo. A few separate tries to get some kind of pushing battle going failed, and the two resorted to aggressive leaning on each other. Unable to generate offense with his thrusting attack, eventually Shimanoumi surged forward, then immediately stepped back, unbalancing Myogiryu and slapping him down. He improves to 5-4.

Aoiyama defeats Kotoeko – Aoiyama latched on to Kotoeko at the tachiai, and proceeded to use his mighty bulk to slide Kotoeko around the ring. Kotoeko rallied once, with Aoiyama using Kotoeko’s forward motion to set up the kotenage that won the match. Aoiyama improves to 7-2 and maintains his share of the lead.

Takarafuji defeats Nishikigi – Finally, a Takarafuji win. A soft tachiai from both straight to a Takarafuji left hand inside grip. He moved forward carefully, and walked Nishikigi out. 1-8 for Takarafuji, and I hope he can pick up a few more wins to keep himself in the top division for July.

Tochinoshin defeats Wakamotoharu – As expected, they immediately went chest to chest. A big yotsu battle of strength featured Tochinoshin apply the sky-crane, but unable to carry Wakamotoharu all the way out. With Wakamotoharu’s heels on the tawara, he held on with everything he could muster. Tochinoshin finished the match by falling forward, crushing Wakamotoharu under his 175kg body. Yeah, he felt that. Both end the day 5-4.

Ura defeats Okinoumi – No crazy antics from Ura today. He hits Okinoumi square in the chest, grabs a hold and pushes forward. Okinoumi can’t stop the slide, and finds Ura applying a lift and gentle push to step him out of the ring. Ura improves to 6-3.

Endo defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi got too far forward at the tachiai when Endo came up short. Endo was also able to grab and tug Tamawashi’s right arm, further putting him off balance. With Tamawashi’s chest wide open, Endo blasted him center mass with a 3 hit combo. Tamawashi could not stay in the ring and fell backward into the front row. Tamawashi falls out of the leader group, and Endo stays in the funnel by improving to 4-5.

Kotonowaka defeats Hokutofuji – Hokutofuji gets his early nodowa, and uses it to move Kotonowaka back to the bales. Hokutofuji’s right hand joins in from underneath, and with both hands pushing, he sends Kotonowaka tumbling off the dohyo. The gyoji gives the gumbai to Kotonowaka. The replay showed Kotonowaka’s foot apparently hitting the janome outside the ring well before Hokutofuji touched down. But no review by the shimpan, and Konosuke’s decision was left to stand. This is now 2 days in a row where the judges would have been well advised to review a decision. Kotonowaka improves to 5-4.

Kiribayama defeats Daieisho – Daieisho opened strong, getting a set of good combos into Kiribayama’s chest. Kiribayama was able to rally, and return some offense back at Daieisho. Kiribayama managed a brief arm lock, which he used to turn Daieisho, and a final shove sent him out. Kiribayama improves to 6-3.

Hoshoryu defeats Takayasu – The first ever time that Hoshoryu has beaten Takayasu. Takayasu had the early advantage, with the inside line and good thrusting against Hoshoryu’s chest. At the end of Takayasu’s third combo, Hoshoryu grabs Takayasu’s left arm, and rapidly tugs down and forward in a tottari throw. Takayasu hits the clay, and Hoshoryu improves to 6-3. Nice move.

Shodai defeats Abi – Now in week two, is it once again time for Shodai to decide to get interested in sumo and fight like he is an Ozeki? Abi attacks strongly with his double arm thrust at the tachiai, and Shodai’s upper body is all over the place. But his lower body propels him forward, into Abi and keeps moving. Unable to maintain distance to attack again, Abi is run back by a someone flimsy version of Shodai’s “Wall of Daikon” and succumbs to a rampaging mountain of pasty flab thanks to Shodai’s lower body deciding it’s done being embarrassed by the rest of him and insisting on a win. Shodai improves to 3-6.

Takanosho defeats Mitakeumi – Not sure where Mitakeumi was today, but his sumo was miles away from the Kokugikan. A solid hit from Takanosho at the tachiai put Mitakeumi on his heels, and a rapid conversion to a hazu-oshi by Takanosho let him run the Ozeki out with no struggle or counter attack by Mitakeumi. Takanosho maintains his share of the lead with 7-2.

Wakatakakage defeats Takakeisho – Takakeisho could not generate enough power to move Wakatakakage back to optimum thrusting range. So instead the two exchanged close range slaps and shoves, with Wakatakakage having a slight edge. Where the match fell apart was a Takakeisho pulling attempt that destroyed his balance, but it also seems to have triggered Wakatakakage to touch the clay with his right hand. Of course neither the gyoji nor the shimpan caught it. Wakatakakage then pulled in return, and Takakeisho did not have the stable footing to endure. Wakatakakage improves to 4-5.

Terunofuji defeats Tobizaru – Glad for the Terunofuji win, but Terunofuji looked surprisingly easy for Tobizaru to move. Terunofuji also found it very tough to maintain a hold on Tobizaru, giving him a lot more opportunity for offensive action than I had expected. But Terunofuji eventually gets a firm hold via his preferred twin arm bar, and it was kimedashi time. He lifted Tobizaru off of the clay, and walked him over the bales. Terunofuji improves to 6-3.

An orderly honbasho has a distinct tempo and cadence, and follows a well known pattern. Natsu 2022 refuses to conform. We are about to start week 2, and there is really not a yusho race to discuss or focus upon. Sure, there are a set of folks with the highest score going into day 9, but none of them are really dominating the tournament. Worse yet, the groups behind them reach all the way down to the 4-4 group that are in the middle of the funnel towards Darwin matches on day 15. Madness and chaos.

If we look at the yusho race, the highest possible score would now be 13-2. But there is zero chance that anyone who is a leader right now can or will win out. How low will the yusho score go? 12-3? 11-4? a 10-5? Right now sumo has a talent problem, and maybe a health problem.

First up is the beloved by weak Yokozuna. He was always a limited time offer, and we all knew his knees were going to take him out sooner or later. If we go by last basho and this one, the result here is “sooner”. This is really a bit of a tragedy, as right now sumo needs at least one Yokozuna. But surely there is a rising star waiting in the wings, on the cusp of winning back to back yusho and claim the rope, right?

O1E Mitakeumi: 4-4
O1W Shodai: 2-6 (should be 1-7)
O2E Takakeisho 5-3

No sir, these guys will be lucky to get to kachi-koshi in a basho where the Yokozuna can’t really fight, one of the Sekiwake is headed for make-koshi, and the only sure thing in san’yaku are the Komusubi.

I don’t know if the NSK coaches these top men of sumo on their performance, but if they do I would not want to be in the room following this basho when they discuss if they are worthy to hold their ranks.

But let’s not single out the san’yaku. There are (checks his math) TWENTY BLOODY EIGHT rikishi that are right now in the funnel. These are sumotori who can’t dominate their matches enough to have a strong winning record, and are riding the make/kachi-koshi line. Is the competition that tough? Or is everyone just phoning it in right now?

Alright, back to day 9. Goal for today is to winnow down the leader group, and pray that someone is at 7 wins at the end of the day. Keep the funnel crew straddling the center line, and beat the make-koshi bracket into a pulp.

Natsu Leaderboard

Its a hot, steaming mess right now. There are 5 rikishi with not very impressive records (6-2) that share the lead right now. The Chasers are part of the funnel, and the hunt group is the middle of the funnel. I am sure there are some old timers who might tell me this is how it always was “back in the day”, but I have never seen a start to week 2 like this. How does it end? I guess we can only watch and learn.

Leaders: Tamawashi, Takanosho, Aoiyama, Sadanoumi, Ichiyamamoto
Chasers: Too numerous to list
Hunt Group: Too numerous to list

7 matches remain

What We Are Watching Day 9

Chiyonokuni vs Midorifuji – Ah, dear Chiyonokuni comes up to visit from Juryo. But he’s not one we are looking to see return to the top division in July. Having just a 2-6 record right now, he’s headed lower than his J2 rank right now. Midorifuji clocks in at 4-4, and needs wins to stay in the funnel.

Oho vs Kotokuzan – Both of these guys are on the make-koshi track right now, with Oho needing wins just to make it back into the funnel. A Kotokuzan loss today would be make-koshi for him, so maybe Oho can overcome the 1-3 career disadvantage.

Chiyotairyu vs Meisei – Another funnel match, we get Chiyotairyu with five straight wins against 4-4 Meisei. A Meisei win would pull Chiyotairyu back into the funnel, but a Chiyotairyu win would allow him to escape. Stand him up, knock him down.

Kagayaki vs Sadanoumi – Kagayaki gets a pretty tough match against one of the co-leaders, as speed demon Sadanoumi comes down the banzuke to deliver some doom to the lowest ranking fellow in the top division. Kagayaki has taken 7 of their prior 17 matches, but there is no way he is fighting well enough to present much of a challenge to Sadanoumi right now.

Ichiyamamoto vs Chiyoshoma – Ichiyamamoto in the leader group at 6-2 up against funnel fixture Chiyoshoma. I do not find this match an easy take for Ichiyamamoto at all, and I think that Chiyoshoma is going to probably put him on the clay. This is in spite of Ichiyamamoto winning their only prior match. Chiyoshoma has won his last two, and is just starting to peek, so hopefully we can get some solid sumo from him today.

Kotoshoho vs Azumaryu – Funnel bracket match. Kotoshoho has a 4-1 career advantage over 4-4 Azumaryu. A Kotoshoho win will elevate him into the actual yusho track group, and push Azumaryu further down into the funnel.

Yutakayama vs Terutsuyoshi – Man, where to start with this. This match exemplifies my suspicion of folks “phoning it in”. Both of them are on the make-koshi path right now, and both of them are top flight talent. What the hell, boys? They have an even split to their prior 11 matches, and frankly I want Terutsuyoshi to win this one to help ensure a Yutakayama make-koshi at this point.

Shimanoumi vs Myogiryu – Another funnel bracket match. Both are 4-4, though Myogiryum has a 7-1 career advantage. Shimanoumi only recently was able to shed his ring rust, and has won 4 of the last 5. Maybe he can take this one today. Win or lose, both will stay in the funnel for now.

Aoiyama vs Kotoeko – Schedulers would like co-leader Aoiyama to be part of the yusho race, and given how things are going, I strongly agree. he has a solid chance of besting Kotoeko today, but should he fail, he will be in the funnel. That’s how impoverished the leader board is right now.

Takarafuji vs Nishikigi – I feel really sad for Takarafuji, and I hate to think this could be goodbye for him. I don’t know if he will be able to overcome fellow yotsu-zumo practitioner Nishikigi, but you have to hope that at some point he will pick up a few wins and save himself a trip to Juryo.

Tochinoshin vs Wakamotoharu – Another funnel match, I think both of them will agree to go chest to chest, and what happens after that is a good question. I think Tochinoshin has worked on alternates to his sumo style enough that he does not require his big left hand outside grip now, but will certainly make use of it should he get there. From sheer bulk, advantage Tochinoshin.

Ura vs Okinoumi – Funnel time again. An Ura loss will push him back into the middle of the funnel, a win would kick him into the sort kinda yusho track. Okinoumi is very much hit or miss right now, but both have won their last two matches.

Endo vs Tamawashi – Unless he gets a win today, Endo is on the make-koshi track for Natsu. He faces Tamawashi, who is one of the co-co-co-leaders, and frankly the best be to the yusho – at least for now. Tamawashi also holds a 16-12 career advantage over Endo.

Hokutofuji vs Kotonowaka – It should surprise no one that Hokutofuji is on the make-koshi track, he is the man with the “Most powerful make-koshi in all of sumo”, and he’s going to be owning one of those for Natsu in short order. He has a 1-1 record against Kotonowaka, who at 4-4 is in the funnel.

Kiribayama vs Daieisho – Not sure if this is a yusho track match, or the high side of the funnel, as both are 5-3. So I would guess that the winner is in the yusho track group, the loser is in the funnel. My money is on Kiribayama for the win today.

Hoshoryu vs Takayasu – Sadly Takayasu is on the make-koshi track this May, but he come in with a 4-0 advantage over Hoshoryu. Should Takayasu win, he would be able to fight his way back into the funnel, while pulling Hoshoryu in from the high side as well. Go get ’em papayasu!

Abi vs Shodai – After day 8 on Sunday, maybe someone wanted to see what crazy might look like, and this could be the match where we see it. Abi has a 4-6 career deficit against Shodai, and Shodai is headed (for now) squarely at a kadoban infused make-koshi. We all know he could bash the stuffing out of everyone he faced for the next seven days if he can get his body and his sumo to line up. Maybe he will…

Mitakeumi vs Takanosho – Mitakeumi is in the middle of the funnel at 4-4, Takanosho is coming in from a kinboshi against Yokozuna Terunofuji, and is one of the co-leaders. A loss to Mitakeumi today pulls him out of the lead, and maybe back into the funnel (this is how screwed up the yusho race is now). A Mitakeumi loss today may doom him to be kadoban in front of his home town crowd in July.

Wakatakakage vs Takakeisho – Oh my, this match may not look like much on the surface, but let’s peel back a layer or two. Wakatakakage is very close to being pushed into the make-koshi track, another loss should do it. Takakeisho is very close to the yusho track right now, another win should do it. Takakeisho has a 5-2 career advantage over Wakatakakage, so he’s got a definite edge. Oh, and Wakatakakage could “win out” with 7 more white stars and keep his Ozeki bid alive for July to hit 33. Now that would be a huge comeback story indeed.

Terunofuji vs Tobizaru – I just want Terunofuji to finish this basho without additional injuries to his knees or anything else. If you watch the dohyo-iri, you can see how tender his lower body is. Both of these rikishi start the day at 5-3.