Danjinoumi

I think it has something to do with Firefox and the site ... I was able to view the movies with FF last basho, but this basho I have the same problem that you described. Internet Explorer seems to work fine. FWIW.

If and when the feed becomes pay-per-view, does that mean the quality will increase also? One can only hope ... (Scratching chin...)

Clicking on the "Vid

I learn something new about sumo every day ... today, I learned that the second in command yobidashi/gyoji are called fuku-tate yobidashi/gyoji, respectively. I did see from an old Jonosuke post archived on banzuke.com that there can be more than one fuku-tate yobidashi, but as far as I know there is only one tate gyoji, so I assume that means there is also only one tate yobidashi, right? My real question is: does the fuku-tate yobidashi/gyoji ever announce/referee the final match of the day, or is that always reserved for the tate yobidashi/gyoji?

Hello Leonishiki - I think you made a mistake in the link to your latest sumo magazine. I believe it should be: http://www.leonishiki.com/sumo/boletines/2008/2008_02.htm not .../2007_08.htm FYI.

Great links! Exactly what I was looking for, plus a good excuse to work on my Japanese reading skills as a bonus. Thanks again (errr ... for the third time (Sign of disapproval...) )

Thanks again, Asashosakari. I was under the impression that under the current rules there was only one "tate" gyoji at a time. I also forgot that the NSK website lists the gyoji and yobidashi for each match. Very useful! I see that Hideo is now the tate-yobidashi and Takuro the fuku-tate-yobidashi (according to the NSK website). Just out of curiosity, is there an archive that has info on current and former yobidashi and gyoji (even if it's in Japanese)? I'm wondering how you knew that there was "no tate-yobidashi from September 2003 to November 2007" without looking at each year/basho individually.

Thanks for the tidbit of information, Asashosakari. It didn't really answer my question, but it was interesting nonetheless. I suppose my question, in a nutshell, is: does the TATE-gyoji ALWAYS referee the final match, and the TATE-yobidashi ALWAYS announce the final match?

Isn't the hono-zumo tournament at Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture during that interval? IIRC, it is usually the first weekend in April. I went a few years back and posted a few pics on this forum, for anyone who is interested. Unfortunately, the "Insert: Topic Link" and "Insert: Post Link" functions don't seem to be working properly, so here is the full link: http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?...st&p=107277 Sorry for the lack of sophistication here, but 10 minutes of troubleshooting is more than this is worth. (Nodding yes...) EDIT: that would be April 5-6 this year.

Hello all! I have decided to step onto the dohyo and adopt a rikishi. Without further ado, he is: Sd25e SHIRATSUKA He was first brought to my attention in the "Heating the Wall" thread before the start of Hatsu '08, having achieved his fifth consecutive KK (including mae-zumo) and earning an appointment to HTW's "Division 1" status as an up-and-comer. I also see some of you have rode the Shiratsuka wave to success in the Banzuke Surfing game. You might think I'm hopping on a sure horse in order to share in Shiratsuka's potential fame and glory. However, that is not the case. As some of you may know, I lived in Tsu, Mie Prefecture for two years. The next town to the north on the Kintetsu Line is ... Shiratsuka. That made me wonder if Shiratsuka (the town) was Shiratsuka (the rikishi)'s hometown. It wasn't. However, Shiratsuka's hometown turns out to be Matsusaka in Mie Prefecture, famous for two things - Matsusaka beef, and my favorite rikishi of all time, Yotsukasa. OK, maybe three things, if you include former Yokozuna Mienoumi. Coincidence? I think not! So I have decided to adopt the young man and serve as his mouthpiece in this fine forum. Some research in Doitsuyama's database turns up some interesting points. Of his 30 wins to date, only one, a hatakikomi, has been by anything other than forward-moving sumo. All of the others are by yori's or oshi's. Of his seven losses, one has been by yoritaoshi. All of the others have been by nage. So what does that mean? Limited offensive skills? Poor balance? It'll be fun trying to figure it out in the future. Finally, the historical record (again, thanks Doitsu-san) suggests that a 6-1 record from Sd25 lands you at ~Ms45-50 for the next basho. Unfortunately, the last four rikishi in this position (most recently Minaminoshima at Kyushu '06) have crashed and burned to make-koshi. So, will Shiratsuka buck the trend and avoid heating the wall in March? Your humble reporter will be on the scene to keep you all posted! EDIT: as far as I can tell, no-one has adopted Shira-kun yet. If I'm wrong, please let me know ASAP so I don't step on anyone's toes (I am going off-topic...)

I thought that was Kokkai swinging away wildly in there ;-)

Thanks for the history lesson, Doitsu- and Asashosakari- sans.

Looking at Oimeru's query, how about Musashiyama in Natsu 1931? A 10-1 yusho at K1e and stays at the same rank for the next basho. Now that's harsh! (You are going off-topic...)

Lateral movement issues, eh? Maybe Asanowaka missed his true calling! (I am not worthy...)

If Asashoryu is such a fan of Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi's, I'll be he does a heck of a karaoke version of "Tonbo" (one of my personal favorites!). Come to think about it, maybe the emoticon makers in the group could come up with a mawashi-clad rikishi with a microphone singing karaoke? OK, back on topic ... (Punk rocker...) Danji

I have to throw my two yen in here. I think Doitsuyama-san's point is an important one. If you act like a tourist, Japanese know how to deal with you, or should I say, pigeonhole you. IMHO, I disagree that Japanese are friendlier (or bigger jerks) than people from other countries. What I've learned from my time in Japan is that there are friendly, helpful people, and there are (far more) people who either don't care or are horses' patoots -- just like in any other country. Glad to hear that Asa Naka Inu's folks had a positive experience, but I'll bet there are others (tourists or longer term residents) who can tell stories of Japanese xenophobia as well as Japanese generosity. I know I sure can. The take-home message for me: Japanese are just like people in any other country. Again, just my 2 yen. Danji

I am also willing to throw my mawashi on the ... OK, not the most pleasant image, so let me re-phrase ... I am happy to help with the English proofreading for LMDS. Let me know by email, as I am a sporadic visitor to the Sumo Forum. One article per month is no problem! Danji EDIT: Wow, I've finally reached Jonidan as a poster! And it only took four years!

Well, Kotooshu knows at least how to say "Where you from?" in English. At least that's what he said to me at a jungyo a few years back. Somehow I don't think this is exactly what Sokkenaiyama-san was getting at, tho ... ;-) (Sure love some of these emoticons!)

Well, if they aren't then I go back to my original position - why was there a mono-ii called and why did it take so long to come to a decision? I was sitting farther away than the shimpan and was able to make the correct call, based on the video evidence above.

Obviously it was a lot less clear to them than it was to me. Since it all happened so fast, I thought maybe my eyesight betrayed me. Don't the images in Tikozan's post show pretty convincingly that it wasn't as close as the shimpan (or the video replay guy, or whomever) made it out to be? It sure does to me. EDIT: Sorry, forgot the sagari counts as part of the body. That does make it too close to call. Miya's body definitely hit first though, both in my eyes and on the video.

Glad to see it is Tochi's toe and heel, and not another knee. The way he got up so slowly and limped back to the dohyo, I think everyone was wondering if this was going to be it for him. The place definitely got pretty quiet when he didn't get up for a few minutes. BTW, Dejima looked strong again today. Like he says, tho, the basho is still young.

I was sitting about 15 rows back on the shoumen side directly in front of the action. I definitely thought Miyabiyama touched down first, was suprised a mono-ii was called, and even more surprised that it took the shimpan so long to make a decision. Tikozan's image shows my eyesight wasn't so bad after all.

Ah, the very best of American tabloid television ...

I stand enlightened ...

Enlighten me, please ...