just_some_guy

Baruto, you say?

That's definitely part of the contrast. When I started watching (2015ish maybe?) we had three Yokozunae and (I think) four Ozeki. Anyone who reached K/S promptly got smacked back down to the M ranks. Different times indeed.

It's wild looking back on a time when an Ozeki taking a yusho was uncommon and the thought of someone below Ozeki winning was absurd.

He's slowed down a tad the past 2 basho (I'll chalk it up to an Ozeki promotion hangover) but he's my first pick to be the next dominator. Takerufuji is a possibility as well, though he also isn't in the form he was when he won his yusho. A mix of recovering from injury and a hesitance to risk re-injury would be my guess.

I can't claim to see inside their minds, but if ever a Yokozuna promotion happens without a yusho involved I will be very surprised.

To bring it back to the "number of yusho" concerns... I think it's premature to cite his current pace of yusho when A) the first and last are the bookends of the time we're looking at and B) I think it's safe to say his sumo has improved since yusho #1 and still is improving. Whether he's going to be a "good" yokozuna or a "bad" one is very much still up in the air and any speculation is almost entirely guesswork. Reflecting some more on his "soft" promotion (which I still agree it is), they sort of set it up to happen by declaring him to be on a tsuna run ahead of time. Once that declaration landed it's pretty much a given that a yusho of any sort (can you imagine the shouting if he'd won it at 11-4?) would get the promotion and it'd be a weird look if it didn't. Unless, of course there was some "he's on a tsuna run but needs a very strong yusho" wording that I missed.

How about "tie-dye-yokozuna?" The rope will be... well, you know.

Hate to say I told you so (especially since I didn't tell you so) but I'm not surprised Kinbozan and Oho couldn't see it through. I just don't think they're "there" yet. I'm interested to see how they fare going forward; Kinbozan in particular looked like an absolute crusher for much of this basho. I'm torn on how I feel about whether Hoshoryu should get the rope. On one hand it feels like a soft promotion, on the other he did what they asked of him and we're Yokozunaless otherwise. Not that we must have one, but they're good for business so I have a feeling that will affect the decision even if the powers that be don't come out and say it. He also still seems to be improving, so retroactively the decision might end up looking like a no-brainer if he gets promoted and performs well.

I'm shocked at how well Nabatame is doing this basho. After MK-ing his first two Juryo attempts and starting this one off 1-3 I was beginning to think he had hit his peak in the Juryo/Makushita border zone. Granted, this one could be a fluke but he's looking more aggressive, which has benefited him.

So I'm not the only one who sees facial resemblance between Aonishiki and Gagamaru.

I have never seen someone care so little whether he wins or not as Mitoryu did in his match vs Shishi. What a monster that dude would be if he tried.

I don't have a real solid reason for it but I'm predicting no new Yokozuna after this basho. I guess I don't trust the consistency of either applicant to put it together for a second basho. Besides, Onosato is in a pattern of Yusho/9-6/Yusho/9-6, so he's due for the yusho to keep that rolling.

IMO he's getting smarter. He seems to be doing a better job in recent times of knowing what strategy he needs to use for any given opponent. He doesn't always execute it well enough to win but he's still improving. I would agree with those who say his current form doesn't scream Yokozuna right now, but his potential is of that level and I'll be zero percent surprised if he eventually gets the rope.

Onosato Y Kotozakura Takerufuji O Hoshoryu

Yeah