Treblemaker

It was the kind of bout you'd expect for a playoff. Shame someone had to lose it, but happy for Waka...

Good tournament! Having been able to catch all 15 days for the first time in years, it seemed like the patrons got their money's worth. Maybe it's absences due to injuries, but I'm not seeing a real, dominant, yokozuna-bound character in this group. Maybe that's a good thing. Parity at the upper ranks means the yusho is fair game for anyone on a streak. In my mind, it would be nice to see someone with a bit of character, a spark, ya know? Just IMHO.

Had a chuckle when Wakatakakage's henka made the bout shorter than the time it actually takes to pronounce his name. Also, was good to see ex-Takamisakari clicking his stopwatch today.

A very belated THANK YOU for the birthday wishes... I've been away. Missed you all.

Fill me in on Ichinojo. More injury issues?

So, I may not have been around for a few years. Did I miss anything interesting? (Kidding kidding.... ) Good basho so far.

And never gripe about a grip. And never change a grip on a grape. If you have enough, you can have a group grip. I prefer a grape group.

Chiyonokuni's injury (I'm guessing when his knee folded under the weight of his body) is the exact same injury that basically finished YMY. Having all that weight come down on a knee basically tore his knee up. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often. And, yeah, it's been an interesting basho so far, eh? Kotoshogiku has the biggest, hugest hams of any being alive. Aoiyama needs to get out in the sun more often. In today's White Guy Battle, he's pretty pasty-white. At least Kaisei has a bit of colour. The expression of former Takamisakari's face as Shohozan falls out of the tree is priceless. It's not like HE didn't land on a few laps in his time. And I'll never understand why everyone sits so damned close to the dohyo. People have been flying out fast and furious and it'll be a matter of time before the equivalent of a small cow lands on some frail, little old man.

If you have the video of the whole thing, it was Day 5, right as Hakuho approaches his corner before he does the water/paper thing. IIRC, the camera was focussed on the gyoji, and I caught the action in a corner of the screen. If that helps. The only way to see this is to watch the live stream, which includes the whole 4-minute run-up with the corner visits. Anyway, I found it really interesting.

This was different. The yobidashi deliberately spilled a few drops of water right on the clay using the ladle, in front of Hak's feet, and he dipped his toes into the water. Never noticed that before. And I'm on your side of the world. Hence the 2-4 am, coffee-induced sumo watching.

There's not a great deal of charisma around these days, even with everyone healthy. Maybe that's the nature of the sport, but it makes me think of the absolute tension around bouts that featured Asashoryu or HF. There are no "characters" like Takamisakari anymore. No stare-downs, not a lot of excitement. Just two guys going up there - any two guys - going through the pre-fight motions, and then 4 seconds of grunting. (If that.) One of the reasons I took a couple of years off from watching the tournaments. I recently discovered the live English feed, and started watching again, mostly because I missed it, (and the fractured English of Hiro Morita that makes your ears bleed). But, to be honest, there's no individual that immediately grabs your imagination. Finding a favourite becomes mostly a shrug, because they're all pretty much on par, and the parity is more spread out than it was years ago, with really good young guys, really bad Ozekis, and now with Kise out of the picture, two steady and competent Yokozunas. What we need is a loose cannon. A guy who takes things to a different level. Someone to generate interest other than just "going after their KK". We need another Asashoryu. IMHO. YMMV.

Rewatching the videos, and noticed something I had never seen before: Just as Hakuho is getting ready for his match, on his first visit to his corner, he has the yobidashi spill a small amount of water in the corner near the salt bucket, and then he dipped his toes (both feet) in it. Didn't do it again in subsequent trips. Have never noticed anyone else doing this. Is it for better traction, or superstition, or what? Anyone else noticed this?

So I'm watching the live streaming in the middle of the night (because the basho is on from 2-4 am here), the house is quiet, and I'm enjoying the usual butchered commentary, and seeing upset after upset, and it's time for Ichinojo's match, and I'm ready for another demonstration of size, strength and speed as he easily dispatches another opponent and WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT WHAT ARE YOU DOING ARE YOU CRAZY WHO ARE YOU WHERE'S THE ICHINOJO FROM YESTERDAY THAT WAS TERRIBLE WHERE DID THE POWER GO WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?

That was quite the day of action. Chiyoshouma's win over Yutakayama was a perfect demonstration of roping a cow. I never fully realized just how round Takekeishou is. One bout I was looking forward to was the Ichinojo - Kakuryu dance. This would be the indicator of Ichi's sumo, and probably his best test. With Kak's experience, either he could handle the Fridge, or get pushed out, and he couldn't, so he was. Watching Hakuho for years, I found that everything he does has a reason behind it. The mattas seemed planned to some degree. Maybe to throw Nishgiki off his plan? Or maybe it was nerves? I think it was planned. With both being 4-0, this bout this early was significant, and being lucky yesterday meant Hak was not taking chances. The ending today looked very similar to yesterday's synchronized diving, but, where there should have been a mono-ii yesterday, today they got one, and it was only sensible to re-start. Had a chuckle when EVERYBODY flew off the dohyo at the same time. (Reminded me of the bout years ago when the Gyoji tripped during a match, flew off the platform but got back on to finish the match...) I think today they did it right and got it right. Yago - Chiyonokuni bout had everything! Pushing, pulling, grabbing, belt work... And Chiyo, sensing the threat of imminent victory, took action and rolled out of it. Watching the two of them flailing arms at each other, I got the image of this:

With the anticipation of a Goeido - Ichinojo bout where you already knew how it was going to play out, it almost didn't. Credit to Goeido for giving a perfect impression of someone trying to move a fridge. At least here, for the first time in a while, was the old Goeido in the attempt. But the fridge won. And I was hoping for Hakuho to extend the bout at least another 30 seconds, really enjoyed the action. But that should have been a re-do. Both were neck-and-neck (heel-and-toe? on their way down and I don't recall either initiating the action. I mean, you have 6 pairs of eyes + video... How can you not catch the action? Oh wait... 5 of those pairs of eyes belong to former head-butters with dubious vision and thick glasses and slow reflexes...… Yeah, never mind. And I spotted a very old man in the third row being helped up by two gentlemen on either side of him. Who was that? Anyone important?