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Hatsu Basho 2019 Discussion [SPOILERS]

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[long string of curse words goes here]

Just when I thought Mitakeumi finally got his **** together, he goes and busts up his leg. This basho is completely bananas. 

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I feel the basho is about to settle into a fairly predictable rhythm now. Hakuho will have enough to maintain his lead over the sanyaku/joi contenders and I expect Onosho to slip up once or twice (he sort of already did against Aoiyama). The main points of interest now for me are Takakeisho’s Ozeki run, Nishikigi going for a prize and Yago’s march towards a double-digit makuuchi debut (he’s quite the monster, isn’t he?) Maybe the yusho race will still throw up some intrigue, but I except Hakuho to see himself over the line without too much hassle.

Cue Hakuho’s surprise intai tomorrow.

Edited by Eikokurai
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1 hour ago, Jakusotsu said:

I wonder if Mitakeumi's leg gave way during the bout or if it was an unfortunate landing. Hard to tell.

Hiro Morita said that he heard a report that it was when Mitakeumi was resisting at the edge that his knee was hurt.

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3 minutes ago, Otokonoyama said:

Hiro Morita said that he heard a report that it was when Mitakeumi was resisting at the edge that his knee was hurt.

Any news on his status? Ishe out of the basho for good? 

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Well, this basho is crazy, but not in a good way if you ask me as it all seems to be due to injury.  Hopefully Mitakeumi is just a sprain and he pops right back. I wouldn't read too much into Takakeisho's loss. The guy has been flying high for a basho and a half now, he was due for an off day. Goeido actually had things go his way for a change. Maybe he will turn this around and squeak out a KK with so many out. Takayasu doesn't look like he will be contending for the yusho but I think he gets his KK. Kaisei looked a bit tired there too and has Onosho tomorrow so he may be in for a tiny skid. Aoiyama is looking great but got a bit lucky there. He did that thing where he pushes too hard and gets turned around but Daieisho couldn't take advantage. Ichinojo has struggled against Tamawashi lately and did so again today. Not surprising. He will have the same issue tomorrow with Takakeisho but luckily for him Takakeisho looks tired. 

Hakuho still the GOAT.

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Another question arising from Morita-san's commentary.  Apparently, some observers believe Hakuho has lost weight (which might explain why he hasn't shown his usual power in this tournament).  Abema TV lists Hakuho as being 158kg, which is heavier than the last recorded weight in the sumodb database (i.e., 150.7kg in Nov 2013).  Sadly, there are no more recent listings.  Has Hakuho been heavier than 158kg in the past, and if so how recently?  Is the weight info from the seasonal weigh-ins recorded anywhere?  Kintamayama listed the top 10 back in December, but needless to say, Hakuho was not among those men.

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17 minutes ago, Midoriyama said:

Any news on his status? Ishe out of the basho for good? 

Latest news reports have his Oyakata saying they will decide based on the results of the MRI whether he’ll return tomorrow or not. That was about an hour and a half ago on Nikkan.

Edited by Eikokurai
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8 minutes ago, Amamaniac said:

Another question arising from Morita-san's commentary.  Apparently, some observers believe Hakuho has lost weight (which might explain why he hasn't shown his usual power in this tournament).  Abema TV lists Hakuho as being 158kg, which is heavier than the last recorded weight in the sumodb database (i.e., 150.7kg in Nov 2013).  Sadly, there are no more recent listings.  Has Hakuho been heavier than 158kg in the past, and if so how recently?  Is the weight info from the seasonal weigh-ins recorded anywhere?  Kintamayama listed the top 10 back in December, but needless to say, Hakuho was not among those men.

It appears Abema has it right. Hakuho is up four kilos since last weigh-in to 158. There is some speculation that Hak has lost some muscle.

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1 hour ago, Amamaniac said:

I second that observation!  Is the extra weight designed to bring about a change in his wrestling style so as to prevent future injuries resulting from non-sumo techniques?  Whatever the reason, in the the bout you tagged, his tachiai still showed signs of his old Greco-Roman ways.

I also think he's using the weight to change his style. At Kyushu he won his bouts much more offensively and this thread (most recent post by Benihana) says that going into that basho he was 135kg..

http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/topic/37052-featured-rikishi-ura/

He does look even bigger now and time will tell how he will perform for the rest of this tournament. But I think, like you say psychologically, his mind won't let him perform his usual wonderful antics. Hope time will prove me wrong.

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T_T Potential heartbreak for Mitakeumi T_T

I really hope that it's not that bad, but it really didn't look good either...

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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?

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Yago seems really strong and well centered, needs a bit more of explosion and agility, he'll be a fierce one.

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2 minutes ago, Treblemaker said:

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?

He doesn't deal well with pusher/thrusters, Takakeisho will make a fool out of him today. 

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Aminishiki will battle Toyonoshima for the 42nd time tomorrow. Amazingly not one Fusen in the bunch. First time they have faced each other in 3 and 1/2 years. Pretty cool.

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31 minutes ago, Rocks said:

Aminishiki will battle Toyonoshima for the 42nd time tomorrow. Amazingly not one Fusen in the bunch. First time they have faced each other in 3 and 1/2 years. Pretty cool.

Looking forward to that one. Toyonoshima showed some great agility in his match against Azumaryu, despite losing. Aminishiki on the other hand,....well... he's looking a bit slow this basho, to put it kindly. Lots of pulling/slapping of his opponents. You have to favour Toyonoshima, but this is the old man we're talking about, so anything is possible I suppose...

 

Looks like Hidenoumi had a nasty pull of the arm at the conclusion of his bout with Hakuyozan...ouch, looks painful! Hope this doesn't turn into another Nagoya....

Edited by Akōgyokuseki
damn autocorrect

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If Mitakeumi does drop out than Hokutofuji would get his second straight fusen sho. When was the last time that happened?

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14 minutes ago, Bumpkin said:

If Mitakeumi does drop out than Hokutofuji would get his second straight fusen sho. When was the last time that happened?

In July 2018 both Chiyonokuni and Shodai got 2 fusen wins in that basho. Amazingly Chiyonokuni gave up a fusen win to leave later in the basho making him involved in 3 fusen matches in the same basho. But theirs was not straight wins though.

For straight wins it looks like you have to go back to Tamakasuga in September 1999 getting wins on days 3 and 4 when Takanohana and Akebono dropped out.

http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Query_bout.aspx?show_form=0&group_expand=on&group_by=basho&group_by2=rikishi1&having=2&m=on&kimarite=74

Edited by Rocks
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1 hour ago, Treblemaker said:

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?

Just how much coffee did you drink in order to stay up till 4am?  (Laughing...)

To answer your last question: sumo, not sumo.

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Well today felt very much like normality hit - the holidays have ended and suddenly the cold reality that it's dark and we have to get up and go to work has struck. (Shakinghead...)

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5 hours ago, Eikokurai said:

I feel the basho is about to settle into a fairly predictable rhythm now. Hakuho will have enough to maintain his lead over the sanyaku/joi contenders and I expect Onosho to slip up once or twice (he sort of already did against Aoiyama). The main points of interest now for me are Takakeisho’s Ozeki run, Nishikigi going for a prize and Yago’s march towards a double-digit makuuchi debut (he’s quite the monster, isn’t he?) Maybe the yusho race will still throw up some intrigue, but I except Hakuho to see himself over the line without too much hassle.

Cue Hakuho’s surprise intai tomorrow.

If a few others concede his death grip that easily like today, it will be Hakuho‘s yusho on day 14. Does anybody have an idea what his opponent was trying at the tachiai ?

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43 minutes ago, Gospodin said:

Does anybody have an idea what his opponent was trying at the tachiai ?

That's just plain old Shodai with his "let's see what will happen" attitude. Sometimes it works, more often it won't.

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7 hours ago, Otokonoyama said:

Hiro Morita said that he heard a report that it was when Mitakeumi was resisting at the edge that his knee was hurt.

Did he call it the tawara straw-edge?

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Come on Hak; loses one for the basho's sake...41 aint enought?

Oh boy! The look in sato's face when he losed the mawashi: Total panic!

Oh Mita! What F* shame!

Nice win for Takayasu.

Ichi; gambate fat boy! Kaisei; you too homie! I got 25 cents on you guys!

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16 minutes ago, Jabbamaru said:

Come on Hak; loses one for the basho's sake...41 aint enought?

I was thinking about that this off-season. Being 10 clear of Taihou's previous record of 32 yusho is a big exclamation point, but now at 41 he's got the sum total of the previous record holder's (32) and his career greatest rival (Harumafuji, 9), which is quite poetic. 

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38 minutes ago, Atenzan said:

quite poetic. 

 

Poetic, epic, makes me feeling apoplectic, wakes up the narcoleptic and pisses off the anti-hakstists...cheeekcheek cheeee...

 

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