Yamanashi

"Uneasy lies the head without a neck that bears the kabu."

How did things work out so that Mitakeumi and Chiyoshoma had never met before day 6 Hatsu 2025? Aonishiki looks surprisingly savvy for a foreign newbie to the sport. I'm guessing Ajigawa is dumping out the whole bag of tricks for his students to learn. Kotonowaka looks like he's just weak, not injured. Diabetes?

Wonderful slide show of Detroit. Kids can be so funny!

Yeah, people are apparently listening to his interviews where he describes his weaknesses and discusses how to beat him. I thought rikishi were supposed to be all cryptic and stoic.

A: "Hey, it looks like the Mongolians are running over everyone in Makuuchi this basho." B: "You mean Terunofuji and Hoshoryu?" A: " Uh, well ... "

Yeah, we fell for it again, didn't we?

@Kintamayama, many thanks for your ... uh ... description of a weekend visit to Cincinnati. I look forward to more of this content!

Big time sports make money by selling TV rights. When/if Ozumo gets big enough, the NSK will have its own international TV deal. MLB and NFL can make stunning amounts of money because the US is rich and there's a large audience. Japan isn't, and NSK would need to have an international TV deal to make it worthwhile. The major problem is it's Sumo -- if there were International Sumo stables with basho in different countries, it wouldn't be Sumo.

So far he's the rikishi who most looks like Lex Luthor (sorry, Rekus Rothoru).

Hey, you jinxed him!

I had to look at it four times to convince myself that he didn't put his heel down.

The classic battle of the Resistible Force against the Moveable Object.

Day 2: Tamawashi doesn't look old at all. He could go another three years barring injury. Oshoma did what we thought was impossible: consistently find Takarafuji's neck. Chiyoshoma now looks like a smooth hipster guy, instead of a rattled henka machine. Takayasu vs. Endo looked a little too much like an OB event -- including the 360° spin. Takerufuji did something between a hit-and-shift and a HNH. Was he actually just aiming his chest at the shoulder of Meisei? Kirishima at least looked like he belongs near the San'yaku ranks; Atamifuji did not.

Can anyone tell me the Japanese term for "pencil neck"? I want to listen for it at the next dustup.

In keeping with a Winter Basho, on day 1 the NSK presents Sumo On Ice!

oink oink, ka-ching ka-ching.

Maybe Takanosho hopes nobody from Japan knows about this episode ... Wasn't H.E. originally known as Demon Kogure?

Good news: error has changed from 503 to 404. As the old Math joke goes, "well, we know how to solve it from this point."

Kayfabe?

My guess (2 yen): ~50-100 for oyakata would be great ad space for the price. OTOH ~600 for rikishi would be a waste of ad money, and UNIQLO never wastes ad money.

Considering what I see the rikishi wearing inside the heya, I'm not sure the general public would be caught dead wearing it inside their houses.

"Is it 504?" [Sumodb, fingers crossed] "Is it 403?"

working for me now

Hey, a guy named Shoma Akua asked me for your contact info. He says he wants you to diss him publicly.

Working as of 0013 EST (East coast US). Yay!!