Where is Chiyonoumi? I mention him as an up-and-comer and it seems he’s out of the tournament, kyujo for at least one match and he’s not on tomorrow’s schedule. I wonder if he’s injured or ill? I’ve seen several people asking on forums and Twitter, also, but I’ve not seen any reports on his status. Homarefuji got henka’d and couldn’t quite recover, though he did give it the good college try. He’s got another day of rest tomorrow to regroup.

My match of the day was a snooze-fest compared to the match immediately before it. Ichinojo swept Gagamaru away with ease. Amuru and Hidenoumi, on the other hand, grappled fiercely with Amuru victorious as he was judged to be the last to topple off the dohyo. Yesterday there were a few lengthy, lumbering, lean-offs but this bout was a wild back-and-forth and early contender for match of the tournament.

Harumafuji still leads with all the ozeki on the top of the leaderboard at 2 wins, spinning Okinoumi into the first row. None of these matches seemed particularly competitive today except Terunofuji had a bit of a challenge with Aoiyama. Hakuho and Kakuryu won handily, and lower down the banzuke Myogiryu blew Takekaze away. (C’mon, you knew I’d have to say that.)

Looking forward:

My Bout of the Day for tomorrow is Goeido vs Yoshikaze. Yoshikaze is going to want to get some wins this week and there will be few easier opponents than Goeido. The ozeki is also virtually incapable of putting together a run of three or more victories in a row. The last time he managed three was in July of last year – actually a stretch of four, that time. He is an Osaka boy, though, so he’s got the home crowd behind him.

Early on, I had Ikioi vs Shohozan penciled in. Both are solid competitors and their rivalry is tied with 3 wins a piece. But, Shodai obliterated Shohozan today. He’s coming up on two years in professional sumo and he’s risen quite quickly to be a solid maegashira.

Tomorrow’s match to watch is Ichinojo vs. Gagamaru. Ichinojo has been on a slide, obviously, while Gagamaru’s been grappling pretty well – if he can keep his balance. I’m eager to watch these two climb onto the dohyo together. They’ve not met yet since Gagamaru had his little stint in Juryo while Ichinojo was flying high into the upper reaches of the makuuchi. I’ll be interested to see whether it’s a 1-dimensional lean-fest or if someone uses some technique or guile. Continue reading →

Our ozeki all started out with Day 1 victories. I’ll with my most anticipated bout, Terunofuji’s return against Tochinoshin. This played out as expected: a great belt bout. What had me on pins-and-needles was how Terunofuji’s shoulder and knees would hold up, and so far he’s looking strong. The maegashira gave it his all but had no chance.

Harumafuji is quick out of the gate, leading a field as the lone yokozuna with a Day 1 win. He blasted Tochiozan into the crowd and will face Okinoumi tomorrow. Kakuryu lost a great, closely contested bout to Toyonoshima with the feisty Takayasu on tap for tomorrow.  Continue reading →