Swami

A bit of a random one this, I know, curious to know if any of you have a favourite gyoji either past or present. The 27th Kimura Shonosuke (retired 1990), and the 28th Kimura Shonosuke (retired 1993) stand out for me, also the main sanyaku/ozeki gyoji of that time - was it Shintaro - his calls were very distinctive. Of current gyoji, around the mid-maegashira level - not sure who the gyoji is, but I love his calls of "Endo" and "Enho". Swami

He was a great gyoji, one of my favourites along with his immediate successor as tate-gyoji. There was also a great sanyaku gyoji of that era - can't remember his name - but he took charge of most ozeki/sekiwake bouts. Swami

Happy birthday and hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

Happy birthday and hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

Hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

I see on the official JSA website, Hokuseiho seems to have grown another 4cm, now listed at 204cm. Swami

Happy birthday and hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

Happy birthday and hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

That last tournament they covered - they even resorted to squeezing a couple of days' bouts into one programme, Lyall Watson wasn't involved, replaced by the actor Brian Blessed. It was a great pity, because the coverage was very good while it lasted and I found it vastly superior to Eurosport's. Swami

It does seem rather ironic, from a UK point of view, that Channel 4 has put this documentary forward given the excellent, albeit all too short-lived, coverage they gave to sumo in the late 198s/early 1990s including the London Koen in 1991. Having worked very hard up to the point, they then allowed their sumo coverage to fizzle out after showing the 1992 Hatsu Basho. Swami

Hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

Hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

Happy birthday and hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

Happy birthday and hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

I think he is hugely overrated, even taking into account how low the overall quality of sumo is at present. He may well get to the lower sanyaku ranks on this basis - I think even sandanme/jonokuchi rikishi would be better ozeki than the current crop- but with greater quality he is mid-to-lower maegashira at best. Swami

I remember for Chiyonofuji's 31st and final yusho, juryo Tomoefuji accompanied the Wolf. He made his Makunouchi debut in January 1991, though. Swami

Happy birthday and hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

Happy birthday and hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

I think it is very likely Terunofuji has won his final yusho in May. Even at this stage if he withdraws this time, the next time he competes it will have to be good. Too many rikishi - Tamawashi, Daieisho, now Ura are getting the better of him and as times passes his knees are not going to get much better. At the same time, Hakuho and Kakuryu both blatantly kept on withdrawing indefinitely and only got a couple of half-hearted warnings before finally retiring. so I wouldn't be surprised if Terunofuji tries to buy a bit more time. Swami

Happy birthday and hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

I like all the English commentators, though if I do have a preference it would be Murray - he blends a nice of being informative and including a little levity when the occasion merits it. Swami

Indeed, and as well as that he was again banging his anti-Kyokai drum with respect to Asanoyama, interspersed with his incessant toadying of Hakuho I'm surprised he hasn't posted a video of Hakuho's toilet habits yet. Some of his videos are useful eg when details of the first two days' bouts are released, but this anti-Kyokai conspiracy theorist drivel is getting beyond a joke. If his theory about Terunofuji supposedly throwing the yusho away, shouldn't he suggest that to the Kyokai? I remember somebody writing into Sumo World back in the day after Futahaguro's exit, and the reader was giving off to Andy Adams about everything he saw wrong with the Kyokai. Andy quite reasonably replied saying the bottom line is if any changes are to be made it is up to the members of the Kyokai. He felt that if he was to make any suggestions at that time, they would quite rightly be rebuffed. Swami

Happy birthday and hearty salutations from the Swami! Swami

Onokuni would in theory be due for his kanreki dohyo-iri this year, though I'd be surprised if we see it happen. Any word of Akebono? Swami

Prior to that Takanosato died in 2011 (59). Swami