nagora

There is a parallel world where members of the IOC are regarded as paragons of virtue interested only in pursuing the best for sport and the men and women who engage in those sports. This world in inhabited only by members of the IOC.

No, you don't want to discuss it?

I'm not clear on whether this matters or not but Daieisho was below the level of the Dohyo before Shodai hit it. In other words, the only reason Shodai touched it first was that Daieisho had jumped over the edge and was in freefall.

While I agree with all of this, it's still only the end of day 3 and I'd swear I saw hinges under those knee bandages. But he threw Tobi out like a sack of coal down a chute.

I'm shocked.

I wasn't thinking about labour laws; you're quite right. Although I wonder how that would work with those who are not on a salary - which in itself would probably be illegal. The whole thing is so alien to Western sport and work that it's hard to make any sensible comparisons.

What are "Marxist struggle sessions"? Is this a form of philosophy-sumo I've been unaware of? Surely you can place any conditions - other than requiring the player to do something illegal - on membership of a team or club you like? Unless it falls foul of equality laws, I suppose (and sumo might have just a few issues there).

Heya sweatshop worker: "This is horrible! What are we producing?" Oyakata: Samurai! Very...large...samurai!

1 A 2 B 3 B 4 A 5 A 6 A 7 B 8 B 9 B 10 X 11 A 12 B 13 A 14 A 15 B 16 A 17 A 18 A 19 A 20 A 21 B

Yeah, but there's got to be a down-side too, right?

Well, that's a miserable thing.

I never had any problem enjoying Subbuteo or Wembley even though the players had no names.

I like the idea except for the "real rikishi" part. I've never understood the "EA model" of having real people in games where I then have to control the character. It bumps up the license cost for no purpose, and means you have to get on the annual upgrade treadmill, so it's obvious why companies do it but not (to me) why players want it. The only up-side is that I wouldn't have to invent the names.

As a Chiyonofuji fan I feel you overreached your argument here. Hakuho is a long way from the summit now, but that summit was Everest.

The whole idea of serious sport is elitist and undemocratic. A competition is literally intended to find the elite. And, of course, the vast majority of sports are sexually segregated. I agree that the xenophobia aspect should be stamped out but if you don't like elitism then you've come to the wrong place. The people who make these decisions are largely the very people the sport has picked out as elites - ex-sekitori, as I understand it. It's seems that there's a lot going on here - some (maybe quite a lot) settling of old grudges about past behaviour seems mixed in with a general assumed background noise of xenophobia and perhaps some people who genuinely did not like the idea of ichidai toshiyori no matter who was in line for it. I don't think it's all one thing.

That's a difficult question. It depends on what you mean by "sumo". If you mean the bouts, then no - it's irrelevant. If you mean is it a good thing in relation to why people watch Sumo as opposed to American Wrastlin' or something else then maybe it is. Maybe the fact that Sumo is a closed world is part of the reason people are attracted to it. The air of mystery and of the samurai spirit is, AFAICT, part of why even Japanese people watch it - still more why foreigners do. Sumo Wrestling - the bouts - doesn't need anything other than a circle drawn in the dirt. Sumo is more than that. How much more? That's a fairly arbitrary thing and simply "giving the fans what they want" doesn't always work out in the long run.

How often has it been given since then?

I wouldn't have said that Chiyonofuji had a slow decline, the end came quite abruptly IMO - a 13-2 win, then two withdrawals from injury and he retired. http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Rikishi.aspx?r=1354

Same here, although I was a bit older. But picking one is like picking your favourite band - it depends when you started watching. I've missed almost the whole of Hakuho's reign and his record speaks for itself but I don't know if he ever had the charisma of Chiyonofuji or not. One thing about Chiyonofuji: he knew when to quit.

Very good. Just plausible enough :)

And don't call me Shirley.

Do you have a link to the bout at all? I don't wish the guy any harm if he actually is trying, even if sporadically.

Well, you know what I mean. If the opponent actively runs out of the ring backwards it's hard to lose.

At what point does Hattorizakura/Shonanzakura get "fired"? I watched a couple of his bouts and he's not actually making any effort at all. The others clearly regard him with contempt - and why wouldn't they? I suppose it's an interesting thought that if I went to Japan for my 56th birthday I could enter the next honbasho and not come bottom of the heap, but still...

When did they stop handing out draws (azukari/hikiwake)?