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.

There was some late breaking news yesterday – that one of the rikishi in Dewanoumi heya had tested positive for COVID, and the entire stable was now kyujo for the rest of the tournament. This has an immediate impact on kadoban Ozeki Mitakeumi. He had been unable to train prior to the basho, and was rapidly on his way to losing his Ozeki rank. Now forced to sit out the rest of the tournament, his status as an Ozeki is likely spared, at least until September. In general, if the stable is forced to sit out due to COVID infections, everyone’s rank is preserved. This is what happened for Ichinojo last basho. We hope none of the cases in Dewanoumi are serious, and everyone makes a speedy recovery. Hoshoryu picks up a much needed win by default and is now 3-4.

It should also be noted that Takanosho is also kyujo with a shoulder injury. Wakatakakage got the free win to improve to 4-3.

Highlight Matches

Nishikifuji defeats Yutakayama – I was a little surprised by this match. I thought Yutakayama would be able to put more together for defense than he did. He quickly let Nishikifuji get his hands inside, and the shin-maku rikishi skillfully dialed up the trusting power. Yutakayama could not defend and was quickly pushed out. Nishikifuji improves to 5-2.

Oho defeats Kagayaki – Kagayaki focused his thrusting at Oho’s neck and face. This left his chest more or less open for counter attack, and Oho was happy to supply. Points to Kagayaki for countering with a hazu-oshi – nice move in this case. It was working well enough that Oho decided to try and end the match with a slap / pull down, which hit just in time as both tumbled to the clay. Oho improves to 4-3.

Tsurugisho defeats Chiyomaru – There was so much belly-meat in this match, it was tough to think through the amount of force that was being delivered. Chiyomaru could not generate enough forward pressure to overcome Tsurugisho, and found himself quickly pushed back over the bales. Tsurugisho improves to 3-4.

Ichiyamamoto defeats Daiamami – Daiamami opened strong, and had control of this match by the second step. But an inspired rally from Ichiyamamoto turned the tables, as he advanced, Daiamami lost his footing and fell while taking a backward step. Daiamami is still looking for a second win after coming back from an ankle injury (I think his ankle gave out today), and Ichiyamamoto improves to 5-2.

Onosho defeats Takarafuji – This match was a bit of a puzzle. It looked to me that Takarafuji had stopped Onosho’s charge, and had gotten into his defensive stance. But he almost immediately releases pressure and tries to pull Onosho down. This was a complete disaster as Onosho rushes forward into the pull, ejecting Takarafuji into the west side rikishi. Onosho improves to 4-3.

Midorifuji defeats Myogiryu – Midorifuji delivers a henka to immediately bring Myogiryu down, he is now 5-2.

Kotoshoho defeats Chiyoshoma – Chiyoshoma was fighting well until Kotoshoho broke his balance on the 5th exchange. With his feet out of position, Chiyoshoma was an easy mark for Kotoshoho to apply full force to a push that sent Chiyoshoma into the front row. Kotoshoho improves to 4-3.

Chiyotairyu defeats Meisei – It took two big hits for Chiyotairyu to stand Meisei up, and move him back. Chiyotairyu Then switched to pull and barely got Meisei down before he stepped out of the ring. A monoii confirmed it, and Chiyotairyu improves to 4-3.

Kotoeko defeats Terutsuyoshi – This match was clearly going to be Kotoeko’s win, but it was interesting to watch how long Terutsuyoshi could keep up enough defense to prevent Kotoeko from pushing him out. At least Terutsuyoshi still has some stamina working for him. Kotoeko improves to 4-3.

Nishikigi defeats Okinoumi – Nishikigi is back in the win column after 2 straight losses. Once Nishikigi got his left hand inside grip, he had superior body position, and worked Okinoumi back a piece at a time for a yorikiri win. Nishikigi improves to 5-2.

Aoiyama defeats Shimanoumi – Aoiyama started with facial attacks using his big “V-Twin” thrusts. Shimanoumi rallied for a moment, and Aoiyama switched to a left hand outside grip. With that firm hand hold, he was able to move forward smartly, and walked Shimanoumi to improve to 4-3.

Tochinoshin defeats Sadanoumi – Sadanoumi established a grip first with a left hand outside, but Tochinoshin’s mawashi was so loose, I thought we were going to have a wardrobe malfunction. As it was, Sadanoumi could not find any way to transmit force to Tochinoshin’s body, and was an easy mark for the former Ozeki’s counter attack. Tochinoshin improves to 4-3 by yorikiri.

Hokutofuji defeats Endo – Hokutofuji tried an immediate pull following the initial merge, and it actually worked a bit. Not enough to send Endo out, but enough to leave him off balance and in poor position. Hokutofuji attacked again with a massive shove that send Endo into the front row, giving Hokutofuji the win to advance to 3-4.

Wakamotoharu defeats Tobizaru – Impressive sumo from Wakamotoharu today to knock Tobizaru out of his position as the #2 man in the basho. I liked that left hand to the chest right hand to the face combo, I also think it broke Tobizaru’s focus long enough that the rest of what Wakamotoharu did worked. He finished with a well timed step to the side against Tobizaru’s charge that sent Tobizaru to the clay. Wakamotoharu improves to 4-3 by hatakikomi.

Kotonowaka defeats Tamawashi – Tamawashi on offense at the tachiai, and he looks to have this won. But a brilliant lateral thrust from Kotonowaka puts Tamawashi on the deck just a heartbeat before Tamawashi could finish Kotonowaka off. The gyoji points his gumbai the wrong way, and a monoii ensues to clean up the botched call. Kotonowaka improves to 5-2 by expertly timed tsukiotoshi.

Daieisho defeats Kiribayama – Daieisho opened strong, and had Kiribayama struggling to hold his ground. A quick shift of position left Kiribayama off balance as he tried to get his right hand on Daieisho’s belt, and a single hit sent Kiribayama to the clay. Daieisho advances to 4-3 by hatakikomi.

Shodai defeats Ichinojo – Ozeki Shodai showed up today. Ichinojo tried to win by being enormous again, and it nearly worked. He failed to land a hand hold at the tachiai, opening the door for Shodai to break contact and circle away. Shodai attacked with vigor, and Ichinojo had no defense. Ichinojo tries to pull, and that opens the door for the push that finished the match. Shodai needed that win, and Ichinojo needed that loss. The Ozeki finds his spark to finish the day 3-4 by oshidashi.

Abi defeats Takakeisho – Takakeisho does a strange stand and squat tachiai, and it sadly plays directly into Abi’s mini-henka. Abi lands a left hand on Takakeisho’s belt and pivots Harumafuji style. He gets 180kg+ of Takakeisho airborne, and for the first time in a long time, Takakeisho really IS a bowling ball with legs. Abi improves to 4-3 by uwatenage.

Terunofuji defeats Ura – Ura does not try anything evasive at the tachiai, attacking Terunofuji directly, and succeeds in getting a double inside grip. The bad news about achieving such a position against the Yokozuna is that he also has his favorite hold on you. Now arm locked an unable to move, Ura tries what he can to escape, but he is little more than ballast at this point at Terunofuji keeps a hold of those arms and walks Ura out. Terunofuji improves to 5-2 by kimedashi.

It’s time for the middle weekend of the Nagoya basho, and I am struggling to accept the reality of this tournament. Ichinojo leads with 6-0, and continues to look unbeatable. His only challenger right now is 5-1 Tobizaru. Toby-freaking-zaru. The nearest competitors have 4 wins, represent the top end of the Darwin funnel, and there are 10 rikishi with that score. In fact, there are only SIX rikishi out of the whole entire top division that are NOT in the funnel at the start of the middle weekend. This is a situation I personally have not witnessed before. Sumo is in a bit of a shambles right now, and could really use a tune up.

You can think I am being a grumpy old sumo curmudgeon, and that may be true. But here, have this threat that Herouth posted on twitter as a way to see what others are saying…

Whoa, today Kitanofuji is seriously exasperated.

He doesn't want anything to do with this basho anymore. He has nothing to look forward to. And it's mostly the Ozeki corps fault.

(1/5)https://t.co/QapiLd9xzV pic.twitter.com/nYb7o4KRuJ

— ヘルット (Basho SPOILERS!) (@SumoFollower) July 14, 2022

What We Are Watching Day 7

Yutakayama vs Nishikifuji – A first time match between a pair of 4-2 rikishi. Considered part of the “leader” group, but within Darwin’s funnel. Sigh. Ok, I would take Yutakayama in this one.

Kagayaki vs Oho – Look who it is! Dear old Kagayaki coming to see how the top division is getting on. He’s at 5-1 at Juryo 3, so maybe he will have a good basho and come back to the top division for September. Hopefully he will have cured his performance problems if he does. He won the single prior match against Oho.

Chiyomaru vs Tsurugisho – No at the bottom edge of the funnel, the 2-4 crew (there are 9 of them). The winner gets to move higher in the funnel, the loser is probably doomed to the make-koshi path. Both are quite large and fairly round. Both are likely to try to pull the other one down early in the match. Tsurugisho leads the 18 match career series 11-7.

Ichiyamamoto vs Daiamami – Daiamami came back from kyujo on day 5, in an attempt to try and stave off a brutal return to Juryo by picking up a few wins. He lost day 5 for his return, but managed to put Oho away on day 6. Is he up to the challenge of taking on 4-2 Ichiyamamoto? I think that’s a tall order right now.

Onosho vs Takarafuji – Takarafuji continues to struggle to execute his sumo, and I worry he may not able to shut down Onosho today. Not that Onosho is really fighting well right now. Ugh, another scratch and dent match. They have 18 career matches that Onosho leads 10-8.

Myogiryu vs Midorifuji – Now onto a pair of 4-2 rikishi, still in the funnel. Midorifuji has a 2-0 record over Myogiryu, so he certainly seems to have a formula to take down the veteran. Midorifuji’s two wins have come from a throwing technique, so I would guess we will see him favor that attack plan today.

Kotoshoho vs Chiyoshoma – Back to the middle of the funnel, both are 3-3, both rikishi will remain in the funnel for Sunday regardless of win or lose today. Kotoshoho is falling well short of expectations this July, and he’s not really fighting up to his potential. So he will be on the Darwin path for the next 7 days, I think.

Chiyotairyu vs Meisei – Can Chiyotairyu summon enough of his mojo to unleash one of his remaining “cannon ball tachiai”. Those seem to be few and far between these days, darkening the gloom that seems to be haunting sumo, and it’s not even October. Meisei comes in at 4-2. and the share a 3-3 career record, definitely in favor of Meisei.

Terutsuyoshi vs Kotoeko – I had to double check, but yes – 24 career matches between these two prior to today! This streches all the way back to 2015 in Makushita, and they are long serving rivals. Their score is tied 12 to 12, with Terutsuyoshi in dire need of wins to improve his terrible 1-5 score coming into today.

Okinoumi vs Nishikigi – Still more funnel matches, this time it’s low-eyesight Nishikigi going up against Okinoumi. There is no clear advantage to either rikishi right now, and both of them are likely going to remain in the funnel for a few more days at minimum. For Nishikigi, he has lost the last 2 since winning his first 4, and needs to get back on a winning track.

Aoiyama vs Shimanoumi – This is probably a “gimmie” match for Aoiyama, as he is fighting well enough with a 3-3 record, while Shimanoumi is really suffering at 1-5. Aoiyama has won all of the matches against Shimanoumi so far this year, and is likely to continue that trend today.

Tochinoshin vs Sadanoumi – More funnel matches – it’s endless! 3-3 Tochinoshin is up against 2-4 Sadanoumi. Sadanoumi is clearly in greatly diminished form from his outstanding 11-4 jun-yusho, and is now struggling 2-4 to start the middle weekend, and will be lucky to get his 8th win this month. Tochinoshin holds a small 6-4 lead in their career score, but seems to be day-by-day in terms of his sumo.

Endo vs Hokutofuji – Now for the bottle edge of the funnel, both are 2-4, and both of them are fighting well below their abilities. The winner gets to continue in the funnel, the loser gets to walk the make-koshi path starting on day 8. Endo has a 10-8 career advantage.

Wakamotoharu vs Tobizaru – Tobizaru has a 7-1 career lead over Wakamotoharu, and coupled with Tobizaru’s position on the leader board, this is actually a high stakes match up, with 3-3 Wakamotoharu having a shot to knock Tobizaru off the leader board and back into the funnel. I am looking for Tobizaru to stay mobile, and keep Wakamotoharu away from his belt.

Kotonowaka vs Tamawashi – After winning his first two matches against the kadoban twins, Kotonowaka dropped the next two to Takakeisho and Terunofuji. Since then he is back to winning, and I am looking for him to turn in more than 8 wins this July. Given the chaos in the san’yaku, there may be a bit of a ‘jump ball” for ranks going into September. Tamawashi is only at 3-3, in part because he could not close the deal in his day 6 match against Yokozuna Terunofuji. They share an even 3-3 career record.

Kiribayama vs Daieisho – Both are part of the Darwin Funnel group, with matching 3-3 records thus far in July. Both are capable fighters, but really have not been able to muster more than a middling record. Both will remain in the funnel no matter who wins today, as escape at this point requires at least 2 consecutive wins.

Wakatakakage vs Takanosho – I think 1-5 Takanosho is a lost cause for July, and with any luck, Wakatakakage can use today’s match to put up a much needed win that maybe might help move him away from the funnel. At 3-3, he also needs at least 2 consecutive wins to escape.

Ichinojo vs Shodai – Unless there is an odd turn of events, Ichinojo will dominate his match with Shodai today. Shodai is still not ready to be an Ozeki, and Ichinojo is still feeling fine and ready to toss ponies. He also has a 12-4 career record over the Diakon, including 5 of the last 6 matches. Ouch…

Hoshoryu vs Mitakeumi – I would love to say that a strong and confident Mitakeumi was going to extend his 3-1 career record over Hoshoryu, but we all know this July these things are not in the cards. So I expect this to be a struggle. Both are 2-4, so loser exits the funnel to the make-koshi path, winner survives another day to try and claw his way out of the trap.

Takakeisho vs Abi – Abi is fairly adept at shutting down Takakeisho, and I think he’s likely to show us that talent today. Takakeisho is at the upper end of the funnel at 4-2, and would need at least one win to realistically escape. Abi at 3-3 would need at least two consecutive wins to escape.

Terunofuji vs Ura – Ura has never won a match against Terunofuji. There is a small chance he might take his first today, if Terunofuji does to carefully manage where he has his arms and hands. One stray appendage, and it’s time for Ura’s grab-and-tug sumo. Terunofuji has been fairly stable on his feet, but I would rather not see Ura test out the Yokozuna’s knees.