Hokutofuji

Kyushu 2024, Shonichi Highlights

Andy Kyushu 2024 , , ,

The only early news from the infirmary is that Terunofuji will not participate in the basho. His continuing injury and health issues will keep him on the sidelines until at least Hatsu Basho. I’m watching live on JME again. I was a little concerned when I saw that the Waseda/Keio baseball game was right before the sumo action. Thankfully my boys at Keio pulled out the narrow 2-1 win.

This is probably one time that I would not have whined much if the game went into extra innings and sumo was pre-empted for a few bouts. I used to teach at Hiyoshi and I lived near their Mita campus, so I always have an affinity for Keio. Many of their high school and college students (and some of the teachers and professors) came to our language school. Fun times… Thankfully, it was not pre-empted and they actually had time for a little feature about the Tama Monorail. I had just taken that over the summer to go to the Jungyo event.

While I ponder the meaning of life and my role in the universe, as they seem to have planned this programming for me, back here on Earth, we’ve got a sumo tournament to cover. So, in the NHK videos for Today, we’ve got Juryo Part I and Part II and Makuuchi Part I and Part II.

Among the debutants in the top half of Juryo, Kotoeiho was assaulted and sent home battered and bruised by Nabatame on his sekitori debut. Wakaikari received a similarly brutal welcome at the hands of Tochitaikai who drove Wakaikari head first to the clay. Aonishiki wrangled Fujiseiun to the ground with a great shitatenage to pick up his first win as a full-time wrestler.

In the last half of Juryo, Hakuoho defeated Shirokuma. Shirokuma dragged Hakuoho to the edge with his left hand inside and tried to tip Hakuoho over the edge. Shirokuma’s head was so low to the ground that Hakuoho, whose hair is still too short for an oicho-mage, used his left hand on Shirokuma’s head to help press him to the ground.

Makuuchi Action

Kitanowaka defeated Bushozan. Kitanowaka got his left hand over Bushozan’s back, establishing a solid grip on the back of Bushozan’s mawashi. He used his right hand on Bushozan’s head to help pull him down. Uwatenage.

Takerufuji defeated Asakoryu. Takerufuji’s left hand ottsuke was strong but Asakoryu drove forward with all of his might. Takerufuji took advantage of Asakoryu’s forceful advance by getting both hands behind Asakoryu’s head and pulled him down to the ground. Hatakikomi.

Shishi defeated Tokihayate. A weird late matta. On the second try, the lumbering Shishi slammed his head into Tokihatate’s throat and wrapped up Tokihayate. He stayed low, despite being much bigger than Tokihayate and drove Tokihayate over the bales. Yorikiri.

Onokatsu defeated Nishikifuji. Nishikifuji drove forward to start but Onokatsu stopped his advance. Nishikifuji then tried a kotenage but Onokatsu stayed inside. As Nishikifuji backed away, Onokatsu drove forward and pressed Nishikifuji out. Oshidashi.

Chiyoshoma defeated Shonannoumi. Chiyoshoma latched on with his right-hand outside and spun Shonannoumi toward the bales and over. After Shonannoumi started heading back toward the hanamichi, the chief shimpan recalled him, forcing him to bow. It will be interesting if the Kyokai begin enforcing this a bit more. Some bows are quite perfunctory nods…if that. Yorikiri.

Sadanoumi defeated Ryuden. Power sumo from Sadanoumi. Ryuden locked on with his right hand outside but Sadanoumi switched up his grip to a left hand outside and right-hand inside. From there, Sadanoumi summoned the strength of the home Kyushu crowd to pull Ryuden up, drove him up, back, and off the cliff, into the crowd. Yorikiri.

Hokutofuji defeated Meisei. What a beautiful YOTSU bout from Thumper! This was a great, lengthy grapple and surely an early contender for “Bout-of-the-Day.” Hokutofuji finished Meisei off by twisting and pulling Meisei forward with his right hand. Uwatenage.

Tamawashi defeated Takarafuji. Tamawashi’s bruising kotenage wrenched Takarafuji’s bad left arm in a way that made Takayasu wince from his seat at the side of the ring. In obvious pain, Takarafuji pulled his left arm out and turned away. Tamawashi then gently ushered Takarafuji over. Okuridashi.

Ichiyamamoto defeated Takayasu. Takayasu landed several strikes to Ichiyamamoto’s head but Ichiyamamoto’s forceful tsuppari drove Takayasu back and out. Oshidashi.

Midorifuji defeated Gonoyama. Midorifuji henka! Midorifuji avoided Gonoyama’s tachiai, latched on to his right shoulder and spun him down. What else? Katasukashi.

Mitakeumi defeated Roga. Roga forced Mitakeumi to slide to the bales. Mitakeumi had a firm morozashi, however. He hoisted Roga up, spun around, and drove Roga out. Yorikiri.

Halftime

Endo defeated Nishikigi. Nishikigi had little offense but tried to counter Endo’s attack, relying on inshashi. Endo knew where that green mawashi was, however, gave chase and pressed forward with his solid yotsu. Yorikiri.

Takanosho defeated Kotoshoho. Takanosho assaulted Kotoshoho about the head and shoulders and blasted him out of the ring. More of this, please. Oshitaoshi.

Tobizaru defeated Oshoma. Oshoma did not really know how to approach Tobizaru, other than to keep him at arm’s length. He was probably trying to get a pull down timed right but Tobizaru pressed forward and shoved him out. Oshidashi.

Atamifuji defeated Churanoumi. Churanoumi yanked Atamifuji’s left arm away but Atamifuji continued to press forward and ushered him out. Yorikiri.

Sanyaku

Wakamotoharu defeated Abi. Standard Abi-zumo as he pressed forward initially then retreated and tried to slap Wakamotoharu down. Gunbai WMH. Mono-ii. Both were out at the same time, so we need a rematch. More of the same in the rematch but Abi’s right foot grazed the top of the tawara and slid out, under the black tassel. Abi-zumo needs an overhaul. Oshidashi.

Daieisho defeated Ura. Daieisho kept Ura in front of him and kept thrusting him back. Ura tried to dig in at the edge but Daieisho finishes him. Tsukitaoshi.

Wakatakakage defeated Kirishima. Wakatakakage drove forward and forced Kirishima’s heels to the bales. Kirishima did not want to go out so Wakatakakage finished him off by pitching over to his right and throwing him down. Shitatenage.

Onosato defeated Hiradoumi. Hiradoumi blasted Onosato at the initial charge and had the early advantage but Onosato deflected the bowling ball to the side, under the white tassel, by thrusting his left arm into Hiradoumi’s right armpit. Tsukiotoshi.

Hoshoryu defeated Oho. A day one win from Hoshoryu! That’s something. Strong tachiai from both men but Hoshoryu seemed to be the only one who showed up with a plan. He slipped to the right, stayed low and drove into Oho, seizing his opponent’s belt. Oho was immediately back-footed and tried a slapdown but Hoshoryu forced him out, under the black tassel. Yorikiri.

Kotozakura defeated Shodai. Kotozakura baited Shodai into pressing forward. Shodai was too eager AND TOO DAMN HIGH!! At the edge, Kotozakura turned the tables and shrugged Shodai over to the side with a well-placed shove to the shoulder as he ducked to the side. Tsukiotoshi.

Wrap-up

WE’RE BACK! Many changes at the top and some shaky performances but all of the Ozeki won their first bouts. Hoshoryu was dominant in his bout. He appeared to have a plan and executed well. Across the torikumi there was definitely some ring rust to be found and Takarafuji’s elbow injury is concerning. But there were a lot of positives. Hokutofuji’s transformation into a grappler has me shook, though. We’ve seen it progress over the past few basho but this bout with Meisei was great. I have no idea how deep Sadanoumi’s well is as he overpowered Ryuden.

Kirishima will need to bounce back against Ura tomorrow and Shodai will face Abi. But Wakamotoharu versus Hoshoryu in the musubi-no-ichiban is certainly a worthy bout to feature. Onosato will not want to be caught wrong-footed against Oho tomorrow but it’s Kotozakura that worries me most. His relaxed, passive sumo of today will be threatened by the powder keg, Hiradoumi, on Day 2.

It is great to have you all back to enjoy this tournament with us. I can’t wait to see where this yusho race takes us. And Go, Keio!

Hatsu 2024: Day 8 Highlights

Andy Hatsu 2024, Hatsu Basho , , , , ,

Late news from the infirmary that Takayasu kyujo, again. Kotonowaka will receive the default win and Nishikifuji will visit from Juryo to fill out the numbers.

Asanoyama leads and could be the first to clinch his kachi-koshi. With tomorrow’s torikumi out, it looks like the Kyokai has decided to throw Onosho at Asanoyama, first, rather than Onosato as I had speculated. They are clearly going to start challenging these low-ranked guys with 1 loss by moving them up. Onosato will face Meisei tomorrow, 100x more of a challenge than Endo has proven to be, so far this tournament.

Makuuchi Torikumi Results

Nishikifuji (Juryo, 6-2) defeated Bushozan (4-4). Nishikifuji circled away as Bushozan charged forward. In retreat, Nishikifuji continued to press down on Bushozan’s shoulder until he fell out. Tsukiotoshi.

Onosho (7-1) defeated Shimazuumi (4-4). Onosho is pumped. You got the sense from the start that despite Shimazuumi’s strength, Onosho was not going to accept defeat. He pressed forward into Shimazuumi’s right shoulder, held him high and forced him into reverse. At the edge, Shimazuumi resisted so Onosho finished him with a twisting throw. Sukuinage.

Takarafuji (4-4) defeated Churanoumi (4-4). A mirror image of the Nishikifuji bout, the Takarabune cruised the coastline draping Churanoumi out the back like a fishing net. Hikiotoshi.

Onosato (7-1) defeated Endo (1-7). Three great shoves and Onosato dropped Endo. How do you cut to commercial when the cameraman found two adorable toddlers with Onosato hats rushing down to the hanamichi to greet their hero? Oshidashi.

Takanosho (5-3) defeated Tomokaze (1-7). Takanosho hit Tomokaze with a nodowa at the tachiai. Tomokaze retaliated with his own fierce shove to force Takanosho back to the edge. But it was bait for Takanosho’s sidestep. Tomokaze was all-in, over-committed, and Takanosho knew it. So, he slipped away to the right and shoved Tomokaze down. Tsukiotoshi.

Tsurugisho (3-5) defeated Myogiryu (2-6). Tsurugisho had this hit-and-shift planned out and executed beautifully. He hit Myogiryu at the tachiai, then shifted left while grasping Myogiryu’s mawashi. With the belt grip, he used Myogiryu’s momentum and swung him out, over the bales. Uwatenage.

Oho (6-2) defeated Kotoshoho (5-3). Oho let Kotoshoho drive forward at the tachiai. Like Tsurugisho, he shifted to the left. Unlike Tsurugisho, he didn’t go for Kotoshoho’s belt. Instead, he brought his hands up behind Kotoshoho’s head and shoulders and dragged him down. Hatakikomi.

Sadanoumi (3-5) defeated Ichiyamamoto (3-5). Sadanoumi tried to deflect Ichiyamamoto’s tsuppari but enough landed to seemingly annoy the hell out of Sadanoumi. So, Sadanoumi yanked back on Ichiyamamoto’s arms. Ichiyamamoto stumbled forward but kept his balance. Sadanoumi then drove through Ichiyamamoto’s slapdown attempt and shoved him off the dohyo. Oshidashi.

Tamawashi (5-3) defeated – and may have broken – Asanoyama (7-1). Asanoyama’s right ankle rolled at the end here, and he struggled to get back up to the dohyo. Thrilling bout with Tamawashi blasting away with his trademark tsuppari. Asanoyama was a bit too desperate to bring an end to the onslaught and reached in deep for a belt grip. Tamawashi hopped backwards, extending Asanoyama’s reach, and threw him to the side. Sukuinage.

Kinbozan (4-4) defeated Mitakeumi (4-4). Wakanohana called out Kinbozan’s effective arm positioning here. It was a quick bout because of that effective use of the right arm. Kinbozan reached in with his right hand for a shallow grip on Mitakeumi’s belt while squeezing Mitakeumi’s left arm. Mitakeumi had to extract his left hand and try to get an outside grip but he was already moving backwards quickly. Unable to recover, Mitakeumi was quickly ushered from the dohyo by Kinbozan. Excellent belt technique from Kinbozan. That is quite the surprise coming from a tsuki-oshi guy like Kinbozan. He had been exposed a few times this tournament for a lack of belt skill. But this was well planned and well executed. Yorikiri.

Halftime

Meisei (5-3) destroyed Shonannoumi (1-7). Meisei employed the same trick Kinbozan used on Mitakeumi. Except Meisei plowed into Shonannoumi harder at the tachiai. This drive meant that Shonannoumi was kept too high. While he tried to extract his left arm, Meisei bulldozed him into the ringside gyoji. Yorikiri.

Nishikigi (5-3) defeated Hiradoumi (4-4). Hiradoumi jumped early. Reset. I wonder if the matta slowed Hiradoumi’s second tachiai a bit. He hit Nishikigi but it didn’t seem to be with as much speed and power. Nishikigi just overpowered Hiradoumi after the initial charge and pressed him out quickly. Oshidashi.

Abi (2-6) defeated Shodai (4-4). Insert Rent too damn high. Shodai’s tachiai was too damn high! Abi-zumo here today. Fierce nodowa forced Shodai back and over the edge. Oshidashi.

Atamifuji (2-6) defeated Gonoyama (4-4). Gonoyama was aggressive and on the offensive. Atamifuji was in trouble and being driven back from the power of Gonoyama’s shoves. At the last moment he used that reach advantage to grab the back of Gonoyama’s belt with the left hand and pulled, hard. Rotating to the left, he threw Gonoyama into the crowd. Uwatenage.

Sanyaku

Wakamotoharu (5-3) defeated Ura (1-7). Ura locked in quick and spun Wakamotoharu around. He tried to drive forward into Wakamotoharu but then pulled on Wakamotoharu’s left arm. Wakamotoharu charged forward with the retreating Ura and dropped him into the crowd. Oshidashi.

Kotonowaka (7-1) fusen win. Takayasu (2-4-2) kyujo, again.

Daieisho defeated Midorifuji. Midorifuji timed his sidestep well and nearly caught Daieisho by pulling on his shoulder. Daieisho recovered and allowed Midorifuji to continue his attack. As Daieisho backed to the tawara again, he slipped to the side as Midorifuji charged forward and tugged Midorifuji down and off the dohyo. Hatakikomi.

Hoshoryu (6-2) defeated Hokutofuji (4-4). Hokutofuji gave it his all. Nodowa, headbutt, forward rush, pull…he threw everything at Hoshoryu but Hoshoryu maintained his balance and stayed in the ring. As Hokutofuji pulled, Hoshoryu rushed forward and helped Hokutofuji’s momentum carry him from the dohyo. Initially, it looked like Hokutofuji was injured in the fall. I was terrified that it was his back. But he looks to have tweaked his knee prior to the fall. Oshitaoshi.

Tobizaru (4-4) defeated Kirishima (6-2). Kirishima tried a hasty pull. He tried to bring Tobizaru down but Tobizaru moved forward into the Ozeki, shoving him from the dohyo. Kirishima should have either been more patient, or come in with a plan. He seemed to be figuring Tobizaru out “on the fly.” He seemed a bit pissed off at Tobizaru’s pre-tachiai antics. He nearly got his hands down, then pulled them back up…hovered a bit… he was living in Kirishima’s head, rent-free. He’s probably still there, penthouse view. Oshidashi.

Terunofuji (6-2) defeated Ryuden (3-5). Both men locked in at the tachiai, opposing maemitsu belt grips. Ryuden tried to press forward, legs churning, but he didn’t make any headway. It should be rather telling to watch as Ryuden’s legs slid backwards each time he tried to budge the Yokozuna. Gif-worthy action there. Terunofuji eventually took the initiative and wrenched free from Ryuden’s grip. Terunofuji wrapped him up awkwardly, Ryuden’s powerful right arm dangling high and useless. Terunofuji pressed forward, forcing Ryuden from the dohyo. Brilliant. Great work from both men. Yorikiri.

Wrap-up

Hokutofuji will surely join the growing kyujo queue tomorrow. This makes me sad. Based on the fact that he couldn’t walk and needed the big wheelchair, I am assuming he will not return this tournament and we will be lucky if he didn’t duplicate Aoiyama’s ACL injury. Someone needs to dig up the squid and re-do the dohyo matsuri.

Kotonowaka got to rest today and now sits atop the leaderboard, but he will have to earn his kachi-koshi tomorrow against the formidable Daieisho, who is now one loss behind the leaders. Asanoyama was denied his kachi-koshi and will fight Onosho tomorrow. Based on the outcome of today’s matches, Onosho flip-flops and becomes the instant favorite to capture his kachi-koshi. Asanoyama will be a fierce competitor but any tweak of that ankle will be exposed.

He’s not going to do it, and I am wasting my breath by even speculating this here. But with 7 wins, Asanoyama will likely maintain his rank in the next banzuke, regardless. At most, he will face a drop of a rank or two (if they are harsh). Without a lot of strong performances there will be a void there in the banzuke and he is safe. Therefore, if he has any type of injury which will get worse over the course of the tournament, he should sit down now. Wait until Osaka and come back fresh. He will start accumulating black stars and might even miss out on any kind of recognition in the form of special prizes. If he ends this tournament at 9-6 or 10-5, rising into the joi with a new mild injury, just to have a crappy Osaka, it is not worth it. Go kyujo now, while it’s in style.

Onosato will take on Meisei. This should be a highlight bout and Onosato’s biggest real test in the top division, so far. Meisei did very well today but he is not impregnable.

Terunofuji leads the chase group with his sage breakdown of Ryuden. He will face Nishikigi tomorrow. That could be a highlight but it should be a much faster-paced bout. That could bring more of a challenge to the Kaiju. He seemed to have time with Ryuden to figure out the puzzle of, “how do I beat this guy who is slamming his topknot into my jaw? It is most uncomfortable. I must stop it. Aha!”

Kirishima’s Yokozuna run is on life support, aided by the fact that Asanoyama did not only lose but seemed to get injured. He has drawn the Shodai wildcard for tomorrow and will need to defeat all comers (Shodai, Kotonowaka, Terunofuji, everyone) if he still hopes for the rope.

Hoshoryu clings on in the chase group with rather defensive sumo. That defense will be tested by Ryuden tomorrow. If Hoshoryu was paying attention today, he will already have a blueprint for how to attack. Lastly, Oho will take on Shimazuumi in their first-ever meeting.

Updated – More thoughts on the concussion issue

Timothée Heinz Hatsu Basho 2021 , , , ,

2021’s Hatsu Basho started amid fears, if not controversy, brought by the pandemic. It ended amid true controversy, on a different, albeit also health-related, matter: brain concussion among sumo wrestlers.

Before moving on this topic, let’s have a look back at what happened.

What happened?

Makushita, day 10. Shonannoumi faces Asagyokusei. Shonannoumi botches the tachi-ai, moves forward as his opponent still stands behind the shikiri-sen. Asagyokusei raises, both collide heavily on the head, and Shonannoumi falls to the clay.

The victim: Shonannoumi


At this point, the gyoji has two options:

A) Approving the tachi-ai. In that case, Asagyokusei has to be called the winner;

B) Calling a matta. That’s what happened during the bout. The gyoji orders a redo – the shimpan judges even quickly reunite in order to discuss on that matter, only to order to proceed further.
But Shonannoumi is obviously unable to do any kind of effort whatsoever – he stands up several times, only to lose balance and fall awkwardly again and again.
Eventually, he stands on his feet, the bout is a go, and Shonannoumi even wins it. But that’s not the point at all. Obviously, his health has been seriously endangered.

Has it happened before?

Of course, the Hokutofuji bout against Ryuden, in May of 2018, springs to mind. Basically, the story is the same.

Hokutofuji also suffered from concussion, in 2018



I’d also like to mention a crazy bout where Azumaryu and Tobizaru faced each other in juryo in 2019 (on day 9 of the Nagoya basho, to be exact). After a long fight full of twists and downs, after even a mawashi matta, both sekitori send each other outside the limits of the ring, and fall heavily to the ground. The catch is, it was realistically impossible to declare a clear-cut winner, and a torinaoshi was ordered. Here, Azumaryu, and especially Tobizaru, looked too exhausted to fight once more. The latter lost the re-match without being at full capacity.

What could have been done ?

My question would rather be: does a sumo bout necessarily have to see out a winner ?
As a chess player, I know individual sports can see contests concluded without a winner. It does not happen in tennis or in Formula One, but it does happen in darts, another lesser known sport.

Anyway, if football or rugby have an extended medical protocol in case of a concussion, in my opinion a handy solution exists. If this were unfortunately to happen again in sumo (and some day, it will happen again): the reintroduction of draws in sumo.

In fact, sumo initially allowed various kinds of draw. Let’s examine them.

Firstly, azukari used to be called, when a bout’s issue was too close to call, and no clear-cut winner could be nominated.The bout then just ended in a draw.

Secondly, hikiwake used to represent the situation when the opponents fought for some time, and no one could take the advantage. Here, too, the result would just be a draw.

Obviously, both cases don’t appear any more today. Instead of an azukari, a torinaoshi would just be called; and instead of a hikiwake, the shimpan judges would raise their hands after four minutes, and a mizu-iri would be orderer: the “water break”.

To be exact, the last azukari was seen in 1951, whereas the last hikiwake could be witnessed in 1974. And, obviously, neither of these calls fit to Shonannoumi’s situation.

Thirdly, the case of a mushōbu is interesting. That call could be heard if a bout was too close to call, and if the gyoji decided not to point his gumbai to anyone. In the 1860’s, that system was replaced, and only the shimpan judges could then decide not to declare someone as the winner. And then, that system has been replaced by the torinaoshi rule.

And finally, the itamiwake is what we’re looking for. It occurred when a rikishi got injured and could not continue – usually, not taking part in a torinaoshi.

The last wrestlers to benefit from some itamiwake respite were Narutoumi and Wakabayama, back in 1958.

Couldn’t Shonannoumi benefit from such an allowance?

Let’s reintroduce itamiwake in sumo!

Update: that issue, and the Shonannoumi case have seemingly given fruits. The shimpan department has just decided to act, not allowing any more hurt rikishi to fight again. From now, rikishi suffering from concussion prior to a match (or, of course, right after a matta) will lose by default:

That may not be the end to all our problems, but that’s definitely a great start.

Early Ozeki Runs Hatsu 2020

Andy Asanoyama (朝乃山), Endo (遠藤), Hokutōfuji (北勝富士), promotion , ,

The Collapse of Champions

There have been some very interesting storylines coming out of Hatsu but I want to focus on this one for this article. This tournament was very rough on our Ozeki as we only have one left. Four former Ozeki are fighting it out in the Makuuchi, with yet another (Terunofuji) knocking at the door to make a comeback. Terunofuji was the only one among them with a winning record at Hatsu.

As Leonid predicts, Takayasu will likely fall into the rank-and-file. Goeido will fall to Sekiwake. Tochinoshin may swap places with Kagayaki and fall to M11. Kotoshogiku may drop a slot to M14. Other than Takayasu, all have won a tournament. Getting that second one in a row…and the Yokozuna’s privilege of a break without drop in rank…is really hard.

“Show of hands, who wants a promotion?”

Scanning for the Next Plateau

I’ve written about how this situation makes that Meat Puppets song (made famous by Nirvana) pop into my head. The last time I wrote about it, I looked really far down the banzuke. Perhaps I wasn’t aware how dire the situation would become. So I ask, who’s in a position to make a run now?

The Criteria

The criteria aren’t exact but 33 wins over three tournaments seems to be the line…though 32 may make it, as with Goeido’s 12-8-12 run. The run should also start in or near sanyaku but again we have recent exceptions. Tochinoshin’s run started from Maegashira 3 with a yusho 14Y-10-13. Ultimately, we’re looking for consistency at the sanyaku level.

Asanoyama

I will start with Asanoyama because I think this is the strongest run, and the one that is the furthest along. Leonid has written about his run before, especially since he may be starting from Kyushu at Maegashira 2 with 10 wins. It’s also the first real chance since Mitakeumi blew his shot from late last year. His 11 wins in Tokyo this month likely means 12 in Osaka would give him the magic number of 33.

Hokutofuji

If Asanoyama’s run can start from Kyushu, Hokutofuji just started a run here at Hatsu. His 11 wins from the same rank Asanoyama occupied in Kyushu will hopefully be enough to force an extra sekiwake slot since Goeido will occupy a slot, as Leonid has speculated. I’m editorializing here but I think this would be a smart move by the Kyokai. I can’t imagine they would want a vacant Ozeki slot to last long which means they need candidates. I’m never an advocate of early promotion by relaxing criteria but I think that blocking otherwise worthy promotions because there should only be two Sekiwake would be a bit silly. 11 wins at Maegashira 2 is certainly a performance worthy of the Sekiwake rank.

Shodai

Shodai’s case for a run starting now is likely weaker than Hokutofuji’s because of the lower rank, even though one of Hokutofuji’s wins was a fusen. Hokutofuji did pick up a kinboshi. But Maegashira 4 is in the joi and based on his 13-2 jun-yusho performance, Shodai certainly makes another strong case for Sekiwake. Two 10 win performances to follow and we may have Ozeki Shodai by Nagoya.

Endo

Endo’s case for a Sekiwake slot is weaker than those above but he is certainly deserving of a Komusubi slot. It would take a really special run but conceivably spectacular showings in Osaka and back in Tokyo in May could see Ozeki Endo in Nagoya but it is not going to happen. I just mention it because the run would make the newspapers go absolutely bonkers and that would be fun.

Thoughts?

I’m eager to hear what y’all think.