Day 10 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
I guess a typhoon is pounding Japan at the moment because NHK opted to pre-empt the first 30 minutes or so of the sumos in favor of showing the same five video clips over and over mingled with the same weather maps. I didn't mind too much thinking I wouldn't have to watch the early Makuuchi bouts, but alas, as soon as the broadcast started, they replayed 'em all. On a bit more serious note, we should be in for a treat these last five days. Yokozuna Hakuho is coasting towards the yusho, but promotion hopes are still alive for Kotoshogiku, and even Kisenosato is in the midst of an Ozeki run, so every win he can secure now is crucial heading into the Kyushu basho. Aside from those three, the next best rikishi on the banzuke are the two Ozeki, Harumafuji and Baruto. Harumafuji's promotion hopes have vanished like a fart in the wind, but kachi-koshi isn't yet a given, so you know he'll be desperate. As for Baruto, the Ozeki pride should instinctively kick in making him a force to reckon with down the stretch. While Kisenosato has already faced Baruto, the big five will for the most part battle each other the rest of the way, so I'm looking forward to the shubansen, or final five days.

But let's take care of day 10 bidness first starting with the featured bout of the day, Sekiwake Kotoshogiku vs. Sekiwake Kisenosato. If you ask any sumo old-timer what's the most important aspect of sumo during a hon-basho, they will all say the tachi-ai. Kotoshogiku realized his tachi-ai was lacking during the Nagoya basho, and Kisenosato has relied heavily on a solid tachi-ai this basho propelling him to an 8-0 start before dropping his first bout yesterday against Baruto...due to what else but a lackadaisical tachi-ai.

So, the tachi-ai was key for this duel between the two Sekiwake. Kisenosato opted to come with a hari-zashi charge meaning he went for a face slap with the right hand while attempting to get his left arm on the inside, but in the time it took him to execute this, Kotoshogiku was already in Kisenosato's grill using his left arm on the inside to push Kisenosato back and out so quickly, Kisenosato either didn't know what hit him or he threw the bout. I just didn't see any attempt from Kisenosato to dig in even though he could have done so with his left arm on the inside, and it was so easy Kotoshogiku didn't even need his trademark gaburi-yori near the tawara. Who knows? Regardless, Kisenosato drops his second bout in as many days to fall to 8-2 and out of the yusho race while Kotoshogiku is still alive on both counts (yusho race, Ozeki promotion) at 9-1.

In the Yokozuna ranks, you see the effect of Kotooshu's withdrawal because Hakuho's day 10 opponent was M4 Tokitenku. Do I need to even describe Hakuho's inside position and left uwate grip? Didn't think so. As Hakuho nudged Tokitenku to the edge, he threatened a kiri-kaeshi with the left leg ensuring Tokitenku had nowhere to go but back and out. As Tokitenku was forced back across the straw, Hakuho was squatting in the perfect suri-ashi position, which shows you that sound sumo starts from the legs up. Hakuho's sumo is simply beautiful. At 10-0, he controls everyone's destiny, so let's see what happens against the guys desperately seeking wins.

Ozeki Baruto used a hari-te of his own against M3 Tochiohzan that was as equally as slow as Kisenosato's earlier attempt, but they don't call his opponent Tochi-slow-zan for nothing. Bart's slap connected firmly to the side of Tochiohzan's grill whereupon the Estonian just plowed forward not even needing a grip as he bodied Tochiohzan back and out in a flash. The Estonian is 8-2, and while I think he's out of the yusho race, he's close enough that he'll be a bitch to handle for anyone down the stretch, Hakuho included. Tochiohzan cools off a bit at 6-4 and will likely get more tough opponents the last five days.

Rounding out the Ozeki, Harumafuji used a henka to his left against M4 Tochinoshin that was so wild, both rikishi were completely separated after the initial charge. With hands extended a meter apart, Harumafuji lurched quickly to the inside of Tochinoshin leading with the right arm and a left outer grip and went for the quick kill aided by a gaburi belly shove or two. Tochinoshin made it extremely close, however, unleashing an utchari throw at the edge, but Tochinoshin's right heel barely touched outside the tawara before Harumafuji was slung off the dohyo. The ending was great here from both rikishi, but an Ozeki using a tachi-ai henka is weak. It shows just how much Harumafuji is out of his element this basho and succumbing to the mental pressure of it all. He'll still have to scrap for kachi-koshi at 6-4 as he has Hakuho, Baruto, Kisenosato, and Kotoshogiku on the horizon. Tochinoshin falls to a tough luck 4-6.

Sekiwake Kakuryu received a huge scare from M1 Homasho, who won the tachi-ai and gave Kakuryu no choice but to retreat and look for a cheap pull. When that didn't come, the relentless Homasho forced the bout to migi-yotsu, but the M1 enjoyed the upperhand also known as the hidari-uwate. Homasho went for the yori-kiri win straightway leading with the left outer grip, but a subtle right scoop throw attempt from the Kak threw Homasho off balance just enough, so that when he went for his next yori-kiri charge, Kakuryu was able to back out of it and slap Homasho to the clay as the Kak dangerously tiptoed the tawara. It was so close, a mono-ii was actually called, but Kakuryu barely kept his foot from touching out. This bout was an example of that sixth sense the Mongolian rikishi seem to employ in the ring that gives them a slight edge. The Kak can breathe a bit easier at 5-5 while Homasho is still sitting pretty at 6-4.

Komusubi Toyonoshima was clearly expecting a tachi-ai henka from counterpart Aran, and when it didn't come, he just assumed moro-zashi due to the Russian's weak attack. Toyonoshima immediately went for the force out win, and when the Bride resisted, he tried shifting gears and going for a pull down. That didn't work either, but Aran is so off of his game this basho that he was the easy push-out fodder in the end. Toyonoshima's alive at 3-7 while Aran will thankfully be booted from the sanyaku now that he's just 2-8.

It was swell to see M1 Okinoumi pick up another win as he survived a henka from M2 Yoshikaze and secured his left arm sufficiently on the inside of Yoshikaze's right side bodying him back and out for the easy yori-kiri win. Having fought everyone above him, Okinoumi still has a shot at 4-6. If only he had a fair fight from Aran...

M5 Goeido latched onto the front of M11 Gagamaru's belt with the left hand, but was met with a pretty cool defense from Gagamaru, which was to use both beefy paws and pushed straight into Goeido's face. Like a bulldog on it's prey's neck, Goeido refused to let go of the belt, and so Gagamaru continued to push into the Father's face. Finally, Goeido relented and went for a deep grip on the mawashi, but he made a mistake grabbing the back vertical strap of Gagamaru's belt instead of a few folds of the belt around the Gentleman's waist. Due to his frail handle, Gagamaru had the time and wherewithal to counter with a right kote-nage throw that felled Goeido to the dirt for the upset win. This was a tough loss for Goeido who did everything right, but at 7-3 he will be ranked among the jo'i for Kyushu. As for Gagamaru, dude sails to 9-1 with the excellent win and could be asked to fight Kotoshogiku down the stretch. He can bone up for that one against Baruto tomorrow. I wonder who the lucky guy reporting on that one tomorrow is.

M7 Tochinowaka just stormed straight into M5 Miyabiyama's tsuppari from the tachi-ai, but the youngster literally laughed off the shoves continuing to plod forward as he bodied Miyabiyama back and out for the easy win. Two realities were evident in this bout: Miyabiyama has nothing left in the tank and Tochinowaka is a stud. At 7-3 now, the kid will not only kachi-koshi but will find himself ranked in the jo'i for Kyushu. I don't see a lot of fear in Tochinowaka, and if you couldn't tell, I'm really high on this guy.

Just when you thought M10 Kyokutenho would keep himself on the yusho leaderboard, he dropped a yotsu-zumo contest to M7 Fujiazuma, who was all of 1-8 coming in. Normally, Kyokutenho would kick Fujiazuma's ass in a belt contest, but the Fuj somehow managed to get his beer belly lodged up and under Kyokutenho's belt, so with the Chauffeur standing too upright, Fujiazuma just dry-humped him back for the force-out win. I've seen it all now as Kyokutenho drops to 7-3.

And finally, let's end with M11 Kitataiki who simply stayed low against M16 Kimurayama, kept himself square with his opponent as Kimurayama drifted left, and then easily shoved him out in a few seconds. If Kitataiki had taken his opponent seriously, this could have been tsuki-dashi, but the picks up the conservative win to move to 8-2. That means Kitataiki is prolly in the lead among the Maegashira rikishi in terms of securing a special prize, but I haven't been nearly as impressed with Kitataiki as I have other rikishi this low.

Back at it tomorrow.

Day 9 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
Kenji was called out of town on business this morning and will be unable to report until Thursday, so in his stead you get me again. I know that other contributors sometimes mock Kenji's reports, but I have taken a page from his book and have cut out the daily dross opting to focus on the true talking points. I mean, back when Sumotalk was confined to our email inboxes, we definitely weren't chatting about the Tokitsunada - Asanowaka matchups. Anyway, I think Kenji would agree with me that by day 9 of the basho, the cream definitely starts rising to the top, and we are also able to sift out the pretenders from the contenders, so let's get right to the action starting with the day's most anticipated bout.

Sekiwake Kisenosato has been the bright spot of this basho so far. Early on, he went about his bidness quietly while others like Homasho and Okinoumi were scoring the early upsets, but over the first eight days, Kisenosato methodically posted an 8-0 record with meaningful tachi-ai and quick bouts. Dude looks to be in great shape, and in my eyes, he's always been the most Ozeki-like of the current Sekiwake.

Today he would receive his stiffest test so far in Ozeki Baruto, and the key to a victory would be a strong tachi-ai that kept Bart on the defensive. We never saw it, however, as Kisenosato left his armpits wide open with a lethargic charge that allowed Baruto to get the solid left inside position and equally solid right outer grip. Kisenosato quickly countered with the same left inner and right outer meaning the gappuri yotsu contest was on. Kisenosato actually dictated the pace early and had Baruto close to the edge a few times, but the key to the entire bout next to Kisenosato's lazy tachi-ai was Baruto using his right thigh on the inside of Kisenosato's left to bump the Sekiwake back before quickly cutting off his outer grip. From there, Baruto used the right leg again to lift Kisenosato upright to where he was finally able to dump him with a shweet belt throw. This was one of the better fought matches of the tournament, but Kisenosato failed to take advantage of the Estonian at the tachi-ai, and his reward is an 8-1 record. I mean, if Yoshikaze can take advantage of Baruto at the initial charge, there's no reason why Kisenosato can't, so hopefully the Kid uses this as a learning experience. Baruto improves to 7-2 and quietly "hangs around," but the yusho line isn't falling below 14-1.

Moving to the day's final bout, Yokozuna Hakuho was business as usual stealing the right inside position from M4 Tochinoshin at the tachi-ai and following that up with the left outer grip. There wasn't anything Shin could do as the Yokozuna swung him around by the belt and then dug his head into Tochinoshin's torso and bulldozed the Private back and out. All one can say after a bout like this is "textbook," but I have noticed that Hakuho does appear a bit uncomfortable when he's forced to fight with the right arm on the outside. Moving forward, let's watch his bouts when he doesn't get the right inner / left outer combination. At 9-0, Hakuho is now the only undefeated rikishi and is well on his way to the yusho. Tochinoshin is 4-4.

Back to the Ozeki ranks, you'll notice that Harumafuji has abandoned that balls to the wall nodowa tachi-ai. While effective the first few steps of his charge, he was getting burned too often at the edge unable to entirely rein his opponents in merely by pushing into their necks. Today against Sekiwake Kakuryu, the two butt heads in a sharp tachi-ai that saw both rikishi come away with with left inside positions. Harumafuji one-upped the Sekiwake, however, with the right outer grip, and that enabled him to wrench the Kak to his liking and spill him to the dirt with a nifty soto-gake leg trip. Harumafuji gets his mage above water again at 5-4 while Kakuryu slips to 4-5. I think these rikishi are equals right now, so whoever wins the tachi-ai will win the bout.

Sekiwake Kotoshogiku received a break today in M4 Tokitenku, a rikishi who cannot beat the Geeku straight up. Case in point, Tokitenku just waltzed into the moro-zashi position today from the tachi-ai, but Kotoshogiku wrapped him up with firm grips around the outside of Tokitenku's arms and drove Tenku back and out in mere seconds. Kotoshogiku picked up his eighth win of the tourney, but he should be seriously concerned that he let Tokitenku get moro-zashi. He cannot reach 12 wins if he continues to let his opponents get on the inside so easily. After nine days, Kotoshogiku has fought two legitimate opponents in Toyonoshima and Kakuryu. Against those guys he's 1-1. He has got to solve that tachi-ai and do it fast.

Komusubi Toyonoshima breezed into the moro-zashi position against M1 Okinoumi from the tachi-ai, and while Okinoumi executed a maki-kae bringing his left arm to the inside, Toyonoshima's belt grip with the right was so tight that he just spun Okinoumi to the dirt with ease. Toyonoshima improves to 2-7, and I'd say odds are 50-50 that he pulls out a kachi-koshi.  Okinoumi falls to 3-6 with the loss today and had no spunk at the initial charge. That's a far cry from his performance the first few days, but perhaps the henka loss to Aran yesterday has taken him out of his rhythm.

Out of respect for the sanyaku, I will comment on Komusubi Aran's bout, but only to say he's a dirty rotten scoundrel. After greasing Okinoumi up the arse yesterday, he buttered M2 Wakanosato's bun today with an identical tachi-ai henka to his right that allowed him to slap Wakanosato to the dirt without incident. I can't recall a bigger sack a shit on the dohyo than Aran. Both rikishi are 2-7 after the travesty.

M1 Homasho is well on his way to the sanyaku next basho after giving up an early right outer grip to M2 Yoshikaze but shaking it off with a powerful left arm on the inside that not only broke Cafe's grip but set him up to be forced back and out with some oomph. The two rikishi bounced off of each other at the charge rendering the bout in Yoshikaze's favor, but Homasho literally played defense, countered, and drove his opponent out using only the left arm. And good footwork. Homie finishes at 6-3 with nothing but guys ranked below him left. Yoshikaze falls to 4-5.

M3 Tochiohzan's hopes at returning to the sanyaku received a minor blow at the hands of M3 Takekaze. Oh failed to lock Takekaze up at the tachi-ai, and the result was a slippery Takekaze who was able to evade and catch Tochiohzan with a quick shoulder slapdown. I can't really fault Tochiohzan here as he drops to 6-3, but he's got to dictate the pace at the initial charge, especially against weaker rikishi like Takekaze.

The best fought bout of the basho so far occurred today as M5 Goeido locked horns with M7 Tochinowaka. There was just too much action going on here to describe it blow for blow, but to sum it up, Goeido looked for the belt throughout the bout, and once he got it, he was able to use it to defeat his taller, stronger opponent in Tochinowaka. Goeido moves to 7-2 with the win while Tochinowaka falls to 6-3, but I can totally see these two duking it out in a few years on day 13 both ranked as Ozeki. Great stuff here, and if you have the means, you should go back and watch it.

It's great to see M6 Takayasu come out of his funk and get back to his winning ways with sound sumo. Today against M8 Kaisei, he used some sharp nodowa shoves into Kaisei's throat to stand the giant up, but he wisely didn't try and go for the oshi-dashi win as that's not his style. Instead, once Kaisei was raised up sufficiently, he dove inside, grabbed the front of Kaisei's belt, and twisted him down in a heap before the Brazilian could say, "o que acabou de me bater?" At 4-5 now, Takayasu has kachi-koshi back in his sights. Kaisei falls to a lethargic 3-6.

M10 Kyokutenho is making some noise in the lower ranks beating up on the inexperienced rikishi. Today's victim was M15 Daido in a bout that saw both guys take a half step to their right to grab the cheap outer grip. Both got it straightway and both countered with left insides, but the Chauffeur is going to win this race 10 times outta 10. He's 7-2 if ya need him.

M11 Kitataiki moved to 7-2 himself after losing the tachi-ai to M17 Hochiyama and being forced to fight on his heels for most of the bout. Fortunately, Hochiyama is mostly bark and no bite, so with him flailing away at Kitataiki with upper body tsuppari, Kitataiki was finally able to seize an opening to the inside, and once he got it, he forced Hochiyama back and out in a flash.

And finally, M11 Gagamaru either watches film or reads my reports because he knew damn well M15 Takanoyama couldn't beat him straight up. As expected, Takanoyama moved to the side at the tachi-ai (today was to his left) looking for a quick kote-nage throw down, but he completely whiffed on the move, and if I were him fighting a guy more than twice my weight, I'd prolly wanna get the hell outta there so fast that I'd whiff too. Gagamaru easily recovered his wits and rewarded Takanoyama with a choke hold and forearm that sent the native of the Czech Republic into the first row. With the win, Gagamaru moves to 8-1 and finds himself tied for second in the yusho race.

Regarding Takanoyama, I know that my harsh criticism of him bothers a lot of readers, but sitting in this chair, I have to remove all rooting interests and that natural feeling to root for the underdog. My ability to breakdown a bout of sumo and intertwine the effects of Japanese culture on the sport is what makes my reports work. As a result, I sometimes provide a perspective in my comments that doesn't sit well with a lot of readers, especially when it sounds as if I'm picking on Takanoyama. I'm not picking on the guy, and I'm not rooting against him. I'm merely stating that he doesn't belong in this division. Regarding today's bout, proponents of Takanoyama will say, "well, he had no choice to henka because there's no way he can beat Gagamaru by walking straight into him." And that's my point. If you can't beat someone with a sound tachi-ai, then go back down to Juryo and polish your sumo until you can. Takanoyama moved to his left today instinctively. It's that instinct called survival. I don't want to see someone trying to figure out how to survive in the Makuuchi division with gimmicks and henka. Dude's going to get hurt if he continues to take these guys on chest to chest. He knows it, and so he's avoiding it. But that is contrary to everything about sumo. You practice a sound tachi-ai every bout of keiko, and the term most often used in practice is lending one's chest," not "playing cat and mouse."

Something tells me I'll be back again tomorrow.

Day 8 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
I'm becoming more and more peeved this basho by the increasing amount of tachi-ai henka. In nearly every case it's coming from rikishi who can't win otherwise. My stance has always been if you don't practice the move as part of keiko, it shouldn't be allowed atop the dohyo. It's a dirty move that gives a rikishi an unfair advantage over his opponent that is unequaled in sports. With sumo struggling to win back fans, it's clear to even the Sumo Association that the quality of sumo must improve, so it disgusts me that they still allow the practice of evading one's opponent at the tachi-ai continue.  But until they make me commissioner, I'll just have to deal with it...and continue to criticize it and belittle the rikishi who employ it to get gain.

Let's start with the three undefeated rikishi heading into the day beginning with Yokozuna Hakuho who welcomed M3 Tochiohzan, a rikishi on 6-1 hot streak this basho. The key to Tochiohzan's success in Aki has been his ability to gain moro-zashi in many of his bouts. And he actually got it today, but it came only after the M3 was blown off the lines at the tachi-ai and back-pedaling towards the straw. Hakuho led with the inside position on the left and right outer grip to force Tochiohzan back so swiftly that a Tochiohzan maki-kae giving him moro-zashi didn't even matter as the unfazed Yokozuna kept up his momentum forcing out his opponent with two outer grips. With the win, Hakuho adds yet another 8-0 start to his resume while Tochiohzan falls to 6-2, a record that will probably be good enough to send him up to the Komusubi rank for a Kyushu...where he will probably get Hakuho on day 1.

Sekiwake Kisenosato was looking to achieve something he's never done in his career, start out 8-0. Prospects looked good against M5 Miyabiyama, and the Kid didn't disappoint easily outclassing Miyabiyama at his own tsuppari game and then reversing gears at the tachi-ai to pull the former Ozeki to the dirt in short order. At 8-0, Kisenosato has looked to the best of everyone besides Hakuho while Miyabiyama falls to 4-4.

Rounding out our list of undefeateds, Sekiwake Kotoshogiku faced his toughest opponent so far in fellow Sekiwake Kakuryu. So much for Kotoshogiku's retooled tachi-ai. It was so soft that Kakuryu waltzed into the moro-zashi position from the tachi-ai and forced Kotoshogiku back and across without argument. As I alluded to prior to the basho, I believe Kakuryu is the better rikishi of the two. Sure, Kakuryu only moves to 4-4 with the win while Kakuryu drops to 7-1, but this is the first time Kakuryu's had the pressure of Ozeki promotion on him. With the loss, Kotoshogiku can only spare one more unless Hakuho decides to give him another win. As the pressure mounts in week 2 with opponents like Hakuho, Harumafuji, and Baruto, Kotoshogiku had made things difficult with this loss today. We'll get a glimpse of his mental make-up for sure, but I've seen enough of his tachi-ai to know that nothing's changed there.

So, at the turn the leaderboard looks like this:

8-0 Hakuho, Kisenosato
7-1 Kotoshogiku

With the withdrawal of Kotooshu, Hakuho may not face Kisenosato until Friday, so if Kisenosato can keep winning, we'll have legitimate yusho race on our hands. The Kid has a helluva opponent tomorrow in Baruto, and physically, Baruto is the underdog at this point. The issue, however, could become Kisenosato's ability to handle the mounting mental pressure as he heads into week 2.

Returning to the Ozeki ranks, Baruto and M4 Tochinoshin gave us an exciting gappuri yotsu-zumo bout that saw Tochinoshin attempt the early tsuri-dashi. Shin had Baruto off the dohyo alright, but he started the move from the center of the ring, so there was no way he could finish it off. As Baruto landed, it was now the Ozeki's turn to attempt the counter tsuri-dashi against Tochinoshin. The Ozeki managed to hoist Tochinoshin off the dohyo as well, but the move was more reactionary than offensive, so while the move didn't finish Tochinoshin off, it did render him off balance to the point that Baruto was able to body slam him into the ground at the dohyo's edge and then show us a nifty cartwheel to boot. Baruto moves to a quite 6-2, but it's too little too late. Tochinoshin drops to 4-4 and feels the effect of Kotooshu's withdrawal.

Ozeki Harumafuji received a break today in M4 Tokitenku. After his usual nodowa tachi-ai, the Ozeki hunkered down into a belt match with his fellow countryman staying low and thus disallowing Tokitenku to mount an offensive. After gathering his wits, Harumafuji shifted and dragged Tokitenku by the belt uwate-dashi-nage style dragging Tenku down to the dirt for the easy win. Harumafuji moves to 4-4 and has gone from Yokozuna hopeful to kachi-koshi hopeful.

Helping to inspire my rant in the introduction was Komusubi Aran who entered the day at 0-7. The Russian Bride never gave M1 Okinoumi a peek up his gown jumping to the right and henka'ing his opponent to the dirt before the bout had even started. One reason why Aran's henka pissed me off today is because Okinoumi (3-5) is/was in the running for a special prize not to mention a sanyaku berth, so to see the bout completely taken out of his hands rubs me wrong.

Props to Komusubi Toyonoshima for at least giving M1 Homasho a straight-up fight in a bout that saw Homasho get an arm on the inside, which is the key to defeating Toyonoshima. From the tachi-ai, Homasho hunkered down way low keeping his ass back and more importantly keeping Toyonoshima from any sort of inside position or belt grip. As the rikishi got lower and lower in their stance, the advantage swayed to Homasho by virtue of his longer limbs. With the Komusubi completely neutralized after about 10 seconds, Homasho pushed up quickly at both of Toyonoshima's arms and sent him out of the dohyo via oshi-dashi. Homie moves to 5-3 with the win, and the main difference between him and Okinoumi at 3-5 is that Homasho has been here before countless times and knows how to attack the jo'i rikishi. Okinoumi will learn that in time, though, and one day surpass Homasho's greatest accomplishments in the division.

In the Maegashira ranks, I've been hard on M5 Goeido for relying too much on pull sumo, but I don't fault him for the tactic today against M3 Takekaze, a rikishi who actually henkas when he goes straight forward because you're so used to him going to either side at the charge. True to form, today's bout saw both rikishi standing upright and using token shoves for one reason...to set up a pull down attempt. When it didn't come for Goeido early on, I was thrilled to see him win the bout by ducking in close and forcing Takekaze out with the body instead of settling for a pull down. Good stuff from Goeido who moves to 6-2, but now I want to see him win via yori-kiri against someone who is actually good.

The only reason I comment on the M6 Wakakoyu - M8 Kaisei bout is because I knew the moro-te-zuki tachi-ai followed by the quick pull reversal from Wakakoyu was coming, so I find it comical that Kaisei had no clue. The pull down win for Wakakoyu came quickly, and if guys would just watch a bit of film, they'd clearly pick up on this move. Both dudes' are 3-5 at the turn.

It was nice to see M6 Takayasu quit the monkey business and win with forward-moving sumo again (it had been six days). His opponent was M8 Toyohibiki, which made winning much easier. Case in point...Toyohibiki actually had Takayasu turned 90 degrees near the edge, but he was unable to finish him off. Takayasu recovered nicely, squared himself back up with the Nikibi, and then bulldozed him across the ring and down for the nice yori-taoshi win.

M7 Tochinowaka quietly moved to 6-2 after thumping M7 Fujiazuma in a simple oshi-dashi fashion. Fujiazuma has lost all confidence in himself this basho, but at least he's still charging straight on (hope I didn't jinx tomorrow's opponent by saying that). The really story here is Tochinowaka who will be fighting from the jo'i next basho if he keeps up this pace. I think he's got the potential to have a Tosanoumi-like effect among the jo'i, which means he can score a lot of upsets. Whether or not he has the same blue collar mentality as the former Tosanoumi remains to be seen, but I'm looking forward to his first dance from the jo'i.

M12 Aminishiki never let M9 Sagatsukasa get to the side as he scored the easy force-out win improving to 6-2. The sneaky veteran is largely having his way this deep and is definitely in the running for a special prize.

M13 Yoshiazuma has sold his soul to the devil. After a lousy start using straight-forward sumo, he's now figured out that he can win if he henkas. And so he's doing it every day now. Today's victim was M10 Tamawashi who charged straight forward while Yoshiazuma moved to his right, grabbed the cheap outer belt, and then threw Tamawashi down from there. Dude may have thought he was masking the henka by going for the belt instead of the pull-down, but I will always call a spade a spade. This guy is quickly working his way up my shitlist.

M11 Gagamaru moved to a shweet 7-1 today with a methodical oshi-dashi win against M15 Daido landing his first thrust in Daido's neck and then sending him off the dohyo with a paw or two to the chest. Gagamaru is setting all of this up with impeccable footwork. Usually if you're the fattest guy on the banzuke, you're also the most susceptible to cheap pull-downs, just ask Konishiki. But Gagamaru is seeing his opponents well, and he's leading his charges with great footwork and balance leaving his opponents nowhere to run and hide. I'm really enjoying the Gentleman's sumo this basho.

M11 Kitataiki showed today why he is the superior rikishi to M16 Kokkai in a contest that saw two fast starters face off. Kokkai actually secured moro-zashi from the tachi-ai, but with sloppy footwork, he wasn't able to force Kitataiki back and out. Kitataiki easily executed a maki-kae turning the bout to migi-yotsu. From there Kitataiki used his left outer grip to wrench Kokkai this way and that until he was finally able to commit on a force-out charge that saw both rikishi crash to the edge of the dohyo and off with Kitataiki on top. Kitataiki moves to 6-2 with the win while Kokkai is cooling fast at 5-3.

Finally, M15 Takanoyama has assumed lovable loser status and seems to be the rikishi receiving the greatest applause from the Japanese crowd, at least during the Maegashira bouts. Like Takamisakari, it's a case of everyone clueing in to something quirky--in this case it's Takanoyama's feather weight and nerdy looks--and not cheering for a guy because of his sumo. It was hard to cheer for Takanoyama's sumo today as he relied on a tachi-ai henka to grab M14 Tosayutaka's belt and swing him over to the edge and out. I realize that Takanoyama has won three straight bouts on paper, but I reaffirm my stance that the dude has no business in this division.

As we head to the second week, the focus now falls on Kisenosato and whether or not he can keep pace with Hakuho in the yusho race. With the spotlight completely off of the Kid in week one due to pending promotions for Harumafuji, Kotoshogiku, and Kakuryu, there has been no pressure on the Sekiwake. Until now. We'll find out a lot about Kisenosato's mental makeup starting tomorrow against Baruto, but I think Kisenosato's the favorite there.

Kenji weighs in tomorrow.

Day 7 Comments (Martin Matra reporting)
I must confess I had mixed reactions to Mike's last line in his day 6 report. On one hand, I felt sad and personally insulted, but on the other hand, I realized that this...issue, shall we call it, is something that has to be dealt with sooner or later. OK, this is how it goes. You're probably aware that Romania is a former communist country that only recently (some 20 years ago) managed to break free from under the Russian Iron Heel of Oppression. This, despite lot of good consequences, also had a few (but just a few) bad ones.

The worst of them, as I see it, is rampant consumerism – people had little to no money before 1989, and, even if they could muster a bit of cash, there was no good stuff to buy. Well, all that changed when we joined the civilized world. People soon found themselves discovering a whole new world, filled with reliable cars, flashy electronics, colorful magazines, cable TV, all-day porn, and, most importantly, FOOD, great, delicious, reasonably priced food you could now get at a convenience store within 200 yards of your home – and a shitload of cash at their disposal to spend freely on whatever their little hearts desired.

After 50 years of starvation, everyone started eating like pigs, and the nation soon found itself literally flooded by overweight people. A recent study indicates that more than one in three people is obese (that's more that 30%!). Yes, fat people EVERYWHERE! Eating your food, breathing your air, treading your ground. Fortunately, since everyone saw this was going to be a problem, special measures had to be taken. It's funny Mike brought up the cinema issue, because a lot of people actually complained about that; in fact, they were so vocal that the government decided that anyone with a BMI of over 28.734 was to be equipped with a high precision GPS, so as they wouldn't hurt anyone when sitting down! This opened a huge market for personal GPS devices, and, in fact, one can actually sue the manufacturer if his machine fails, no matter if anyone gets hurt or not.

Moreover, with so many fat-asses roaming around, bullying started to become a serious problem. As usual, the government came to the rescue and issued laws to protect the fatties – if your (normal) kid happens to say something bad to some fat kid, you're gonna pay a hefty fine and his family is likely to sue your for "distress", with a good chance to earn a serious portion of your life savings – and your kid has to go through PC and sensitivity training. But enough about fat people, let's get down to...er...uh...very large men dressed in ceremonial costumes, performing a ritualistic form of martial arts. Yeah, that's it.

I'll take it from the top, then. OK, I lied. Last and certainly least, Kimurayama was dealt his 5th loss in as many days when an all-business Takarafuji (he's 5-2 now, in Juryo, in case you're wondering) read the inevitable shift at the tachi-ai and grabbed himself a slab of solid right shita-te which he didn't even need in the end. It looks like these two are gonna be trading places in Kyushu – not that anybody minds.

Kokkai and Shotenro, both struggling in the banzuke basement, produced some unexpected excitement in their fight when Shotenro got inside at the tachi-ai and drove the Korporal back towards the tawara. The hairy Georgian sensed he was in trouble, pivoted nicely and deployed an interesting kote-nage. Shotenro didn't just give up, though, and the two ended up in a nage-no-uchi-ai that eventually proved too close to call. In the rematch Kokkai shamelessly henka'd to his right, catching the unsuspecting Mongolian completely off guard and giving him a token push as he was flying past him. To add insult to injury, The Kokk gave Big Shot a subtle but annoyingly patronizing pat on the back. Kokkai improves to 5-2 with the dubious win, while Shotenro (2-5) will likely pick up the pieces in Juryo.

Hochiyama dictated the pace throughout his bout with Tamaasuka, flustering him with well-placed tsuppari and keeping him away from the mawashi. Asucka eventually whiffed on one of his thrusts, allowing his nimbler foe to easily get behind him and send him to his 5th loss. Don't look now, but Hochiyama is actually above .500.

The way I see it, the highlight bout of day 7 was the very uneven match-up, at least when strictly looking at the numbers, between Takanoyama and Yoshiazuma, who outweighs his opponent by some 70 kg. However, Mike knows better than anyone that size doesn't matter if you compensate with skill and agility (now don't even THINK about reading this the wrong way, ya hear?) – just ask him about Mainoumi and Tomonohana, tiny guys who gave the likes of Akebono, Musashimaru and Konishiki a really hard time in their respective primes. On to the actual bout, though, props to the Czech for not pulling any of that shite a certain now-retired undersized Mongol was always resorting to. Takanoyama charged hard and straight, tickling Yoshiazuma a bit with some fake tsuppari before lunging right into migi-yotsu, where he managed to not let his much larger foe push him around at will (like most of the others before him did). Of course, such disparity almost always guarantees that the smaller rikishi will have the lower stance, and that's exactly what happened today when Takanoyama finagled his way to Yoshiazuma's side and attempted the always spectacular kawazu-gake (a leg-hooking sacrifice throw – in case you're wondering what one looks like, this one happens to be one of my favorites). Of course, Takanoyama is no Mustuarashi, but he was good enough to switch gears and use his lower stance and the hooked leg to pull off a beauty of a kake-nage and get his second win in as many days. Now, before you get all excited, no, I don't think he'll last in Makuuchi more than one basho – ripped as he may be, his skill level is pretty far from Mainoumi's, first of all because he has little to no experience in the higher divisions, and second of all, well, because he fights for Naruto beya, which is famous for its isolation from the others. But, to hell with it, if THIS is what we get when he wins, let him stay as long as he wants.

The next bout isn't nearly as exciting, despite lasting even longer. In fact, I dare say it was over right after the tachi-ai, when a very opportunistic Daido got a left outside grip as solid as any you'll ever see, denying Asasekiryu one of his own on the other side. With only the shita-te and his arm clamped to his side by his bigger opponent, all Sexy could do was defend, which he did valiantly, I might add. But it was only a matter of time before Daido made the final push, had his foe to the straw, then switched gears and pulled him down by hataki-komi (don't believe them when they say it was kote-nage!). Daido (5-2) looks determined to undermine Mike and his bold prediction, while Asasekiryu falls to an uneventful 4-3.

Aminishiki improved to 5-2 with a routine win over Tosayutaka (3-4), whom I must confess I expected to do better this low. The Sneaky One knows he doesn't really need any of the sneakiness to win against the dregs, so he charged straight and low, pushed his smaller foe back a step, then yanked him down by the neck without backpedalling. Stifle me a yawn.

Ironically, Tamawashi the Mawashi is one of the few Mongols who favor pushing over fighting at the mawashi. The dude is pretty big and has a LOT of pushing power in those legs, so I wasn't really surprised by the 4-0 head to head against Gagamaru coming into today. However, that power was nowhere to be seen today, when Tamawashi threw everything but the kitchen sink at his larger foe, but failed to move him back an inch. The Georgian methodically kept Tamawashi in front of him and eventually got the better of him with an emphatic shove that sent him back a couple of feet. Gaga stays on the leaderboard with only one loss so far and we're likely to seen him fed to the likes of Kotoshogiku, Tochiohzan, Goeido or Kisenosato (he'll get his fat ass kicked by those guys, mind you, but it's sure gonna look good). Tamawashi falls to a listless 3-4 which makes me wonder if anything is wrong with him physically.

Toyohibiki strangely won a bout in which he allowed Kitataiki to get a double grip on his mawashi – hidari-yotsu, no less. Getting the better of the tachi-ai, The Hutt immediately pushed Mike's mancrush back a step or two, but Kitataiki promptly grabbed Hikibi's belt and made me think it was all over. However, for reasons that elude me because of the fixed camera angle (thank you, nonetheless, NSK, for the high quality stream), Kitataiki simply crumbled at the edge, probably under the Hutt's weight – in which case it should have been called abise-taoshi. Kitataiki falls to 5-2, while Toyohibiki improves to 2-5.

Probably unsatisfied with his two losses thus far and the loss to Kaisei last basho, Kyokutenho went into asshole mode and henka'd the Brazilian for the cheap left uwate. Yori-kiri was a mere formality afterwards, and it left Kaisei with a below .500 record and a bitter taste in his mouth. Tenho skirts to 5-2, and we could care less. Not.

Having already covered the highlight bout of the day, let me linger a bit upon the bout of the basho. The way I see it, it simply has to be the monster ippon-zeoi Sagatsukasa pulled off against Tochinowaka to defy the laws of gravity. What makes it even more outstanding is that it wasn't a desperation move. Sure, Tochinowaka is much bigger and heavier, and Sagatsukasa doesn't really stand a chance chest to chest, so he had to evade this way and that during the bout, but when the opportunity presented itself (i.e. Mr. Lee leaned in a bit too close), the Roach instantly recognized it, grabbed the arm as firmly as you'll ever see, turned around, fearlessly facing the tawara, swept Tochinowaka's right leg in an instant and deployed the move, heaving the youngster clean over his shoulder and onto his back, and, to add panache to it all, showcased his flexibility finishing the throw by balancing in a split and getting up without having touched the dohyo. "[F]**cking real ippon-zeoi" doesn't even begin to describe it, because this one was unreal. No, it was surreal. I'll betcha we won't be seeing anything near this level of godliness in the next 50 years.

But enough of that, let's get to today's bout involving the little balding guy. Fujiazuma, his opponent, is another guy who outweighs him by some 50 or 60 kg, but that didn't really stop Saga from going straight in and aiming for moro-zashi. He couldn't really get both arms in, and a straight up yotsu battle with a guy this big is the last thing you want if you're the Roach, so Sagatsukasa took a quick step back and, at the same instant, pushed/slapped in an awkward kind of motion at Fatty-azuma's side, getting him critically off balance. The little pest went for charge #2, but when that failed, he fully committed to the pull, dragging his larger but thoroughly outmatched foe to the dirt in ignominious fashion. The undersized man improves to only 3-4, but sumo could sure use more guys with balls of steel like him – hear that, Europeans?! Fujiazuma will be looking to regroup next basho, because his 1-6 so far puts a big question mark on his kachi-koshi.

Tochinowaka coped well with the PTSD after being on the receiving end of Sagatsukasa's throw, scoring two wins in as many days. Today he took care of business against Takayasu, who did go after him, but didn't really have a game plan. The bigger Korean withstood Takayasu's tsuppari, dug in at the edge and used his right hand to slap his smaller foe off balance while pushing at his side with the left. Takayasu fell to his knees, not to mention his 5th loss. Tochinowaka leaves the day at 5-2. Watch out, sanyaku, he's a-comin'.

After starting out with two bad losses and two ugly wins, Goeido finally manned up and reverted to his bulldog yotsu style he's so good at. After demolishing Tochinoshin and Tokitenku, it was Miyabiyama's turn. Surely enough, there was a moment in the bout when Goeido could be seen slapping at Miyabiyama's arms, but he was never on the defensive. When he finally managed to latch on to the front of the Fatman's mawashi, it was curtains, as he pushed him straight out, before the Sheriff had time to pull him down. 5-2 for the Father, but, more importantly, now there's actual sumo in his wins. Miyabiyama falls to 4-3.

It's good to see Wakakoyu fail miserably at the ugly push-pull (but more pull than push) game he's so good at (well...really, it's the ONLY thing he's, uhm, good at). Tochiohzan easily withstood his more-bark-than-bite pushes and thrusts, got in close, turned his round foe around and pushed him out from behind with no resistance. Wins don't come easier than this, let me tell you. Oh Snap is all smiles at 6-1, while Wakakoyu slumps to his 5th loss.

Wakanosato had a dose of miserable failure of his own, when he couldn't get moro-zashi against the air-tight Tokitenku. Despite dominating the bout from start to almost finish, Wakanosato could never really make that decisive push over the straw, and the slippery Mongol evaded at the edge and pushed him down as he went by him. Oh well.

Aran showed yet again just why's he's the only rikishi winless so far. The Russian kept Homasho well away from his mawashi and had him in all sorts of trouble during the encounter. Homie finally managed to get a shallow inside grip, but Aran promptly locked that arm and deployed the kote-nage, throwing his opponent clean off the dohyo. But he's still winless, you said. Hell, yeah, he is, because when pivoting for the throw he stepped nonchalantly over the tawara, and I mean 2 feet over it. I honestly can't remember a guy with poorer ring sense than this guy, because this wasn't the only time he stepped out on his own – just watch his bout with Kisenosato earlier on day 4. Homasho improves to 4-3 after wins over ALL the Ozeki and losses to Hakuho, Kotoshogiku and Kisenosato. Could this be the basho he finally makes it to sanyaku?

Kakuryu (3-4) is clearly having an off basho. After completely winning the tachi-ai and having Kisenosato (7-0, if'n ya need him) on the ropes, he pulled his best Takanoyama impression when the Kid used sheer strength to push upwards and to the side at the Kak's left armpit, throwing him completely off balance and sending him stumbling all the way out of the dohyo. I can't really describe it in words, you'd have to see it to know what I mean, but believe me when I say Kakuryu looked like a ragdoll in this one. At some point before the basho Takanohana said that Kisenosato might be taken into consideration for Ozeki promotion should he go 15-0; I remember musing about his fine sense of humor, but...Far fetched as it might be, let's not rule out a double promotion to Ozeki for a couple of still somewhat promising Japanese rikishi.

Sekiwake Kotoshogiku stayed perfect as well, with a dominating win over a guy who spoiled his promotion last basho. Okinoumi could never really muster any sort of belt grip against the thick Geek, so he could never really withstand the pressure the Ozeki candidate was exerting from below. Naturally, the bout ended rather quickly with an uneventful yori-kiri. Okidoki is now 3-4, but should be OK with all Yokozuna, Ozeki and Sekiwake out of the way.

On to the Ozeki, we find the first one missing in (in)action. Whether it's an injured body or a bruised ego, only Koto-no-show knows, but Tochinoshin (4-3) will take it either way.

Next up, Baruto got away on sheer size and strength AGAIN, despite being thoroughly out-sumo'ed by a much smaller and lighter foe. Takekaze charged straight and brilliantly used an inashi to get to the side and somewhat to the back of Baruto, in a position most likely insurmountable for anyone else. With the firm grip on the Estonian's mawashi, the fat Kaze pushed him this way and that, but Baruto somehow half-turned and grabbed Takekaze's armpit with the left hand in a really, really awkward position, then used his massive weight to lean on him and make him fall an instant before he himself touched the dohyo. Don't get me wrong here, Baruto worked for his win, but without the weight and strength, there's no way in hell he could have made it. Takekaze (1-6) all but throws in the towel, while Bart slips to a thoroughly undeserved 5-2.

Harumafuji the Yokozuna Pretender somehow mistook the nimble and slippery Yoshikaze for his look-alike Yamamotoyama, because he did EXACTLY what he shouldn't have done against him, i.e. charge ahead recklessly and try to push him out immediately. Naturally, Yoshikaze absorbed the momentum, took a step or two back, then evaded to the side and let inertia do the rest, as Ex-Ama slipped and fell to his face with token assistance from the small Kaze. Harumafuji should really consider going AWOL as well, because 3-4 sure as hell ain't flattering. Yoshikaze improves to 3-4 with the gimme.

Probably impressed by Yoshikaze's agility, the Yokozuna decided to do the same in his bout against Toyonoshima, crashing into him, then quickly switching gears and yanking him down for the expected 7-0. Hakuho was never in trouble in this match, so my guess is that he did it simply to escape boredom. Toyonoshima is barely alive at 1-6.

Having bored you enough with sordid details about my homeland, I won't insist much on predicting and anticipating, but I simply must state my desire for a double promotion. Hakuho will have a say in that (especially in Kisenosato's case), but, with right "input" and "feedback" from the guys in black, it's not impossible. Looking at it objectively, Kisenosato is the favorite in all the matches he has left, except Hakuho and, perhaps (i.e. if the latter hasn't got enough wins) Kotoshogiku. If I were the NSK, I'd probably promote Kisenosato with 14 as well, but...

Alright, alright, I'll just leave the daydreaming to Clancy, who SHOULD be up tomorrow. If not, well, just clench those teeth and get ready for more Mike. See ya on day 14.

Day 6 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
After the last couple of days of deep thoughts and introspection from Mario and Andreas, you'll forgive me if I just opt to play it straight and focus the brunt of my comments today on sumo. Trust me, the last thing anyone wants to read is my making confessions and the baring of my soul. I mean, it's one thing to be a woman trapped in a man's body, but it's quite another when my emotions are running so close to the surface all because Clancy keeps refusing to produce and co-star with me in Sumotalk's stage production of Brokeback Mountain.

When we last talked, a few of the pending promotions were doing some serious teetering, a crop of young rikishi were making a statement, and the Ozeki were abysmal. Now, just three days later, two of the three pending promotions have gone the way of music videos on MTV, the young crop of rikishi are losing with silly mistakes, and the Ozeki still suck. The Aki basho has come down to a trio of rikishi; fortunately, two of them are Japanese and have at one point been labeled as Japan's next "hope," which means we should hopefully start seeing fewer empty seats show up and more paying customers.

Let's start with the undefeated rikishi today and then work our way down from there by rank touching on the bouts that actually have some significance (buck up Kitataiki fans, today's your day!!). Yokozuna Hakuho was all badass today. I mean, when your opponent is M3 Takekaze, it's pretty hard not to be, but Hakuho not only dispatched of the runt in short order, but he exhibited a bit of showboating afterwards. The match was uneventful as Takekaze chose to charge straight forward, which meant charging straight into two pile drivers otherwise known as Hakuho tsuppari. The Yokozuna beat Takekaze so hard with his first volley that the Maegashira just turned those last two steps and walked out on his own. Hakuho's momentum carried him to the edge of the ring where he continued his flawless footwork (looks like the suri-ashi exercise) and then squatted at the ring's edge as if in the midst of a Yokozuna dohyo-iri staring at the mess that was Takekaze standing on the arena floor. With the win, Hakuho is a solid 6-0 and firmly planted in the yusho driver's seat.

His only challengers this basho now are two Sekiwake in Kotoshogiku and Kisenosato. Let's start with the Geeku today who fought what I feel was his first legitimate bout of the tournament. On day 1 I thought Wakanosato gave him the win; on day 2 Yoshikaze committed that false start and then just quit ending up with his being wrapped up in a dirty carpet and stuffed in the trunk of a car; on day 3 Aran just stood there like a faithful bride at the Sekiwake's bidding; on day 4 Kotoshogiku's opponent was Takekaze; and on day 5 Homasho executed the worst henka I've ever seen that was easily read resulting in a quick slapdown. Finally, on day 6 Kotoshogiku would receive a legitimate test in Komusubi Toyonoshima, and the Ozeki-hopeful passed with flying colors. Kotoshogiku actually dominates Toyonoshima because he knows that all he needs is one arm on the inside at the tachi-ai since Toyonoshima's arms are too short to do any damage on the outside. Kotoshogiku got his left arm on the inside at the initial charge, pulled his gal in close, and then escorted the Komusubi back and out yori-kiri style leading wth a right outer. It was vintage Kotoshogiku as he moves to 6-0. Dude hasn't really fought anyone until today, and so it's been difficult for me to actually gauge his condition, but the good news is he didn't waste any opportunities up until this point. With the Ozeki reeling at the moment, finishing at 12-3 now would be par for the course. The Geeku really has to screw things up to miss out on promotion.

Our final Sekiwake making some noise is Kisenosato, who was matched up against M1 Homasho. Hopefully, Homasho hasn't deflated his basho after that horrible decision to move right at the tachi-ai yesterday. That failed plan and the embarrassing result may have been a turning point from a great start to a lousy finish because today, he offered no resistance whatsoever as the Kid wrapped him up at the tachi-ai and forced him back and out in like two uneventful seconds. There's not a whole lot else to comment on here other than it appears to me that Kisenosato has made an adjustment in his tachi-ai where he's not leaving himself wide open for the easy inside position from his opponent. Dude's got some confidence now and a 6-0 start to boot. As I alluded to in the previous paragraph, the Ozeki this basho are actually underdogs compared to these two Sekiwake, so Kisenosato should continue to run roughshod this fortnight.

If we must, let's climb back up to the Ozeki ranks where Kotooshu has given up on the basho. Today against M3 Tochiohzan he was sleep walking again at the tachi-ai where he allowed Oh the easy moro-zashi position. What made matters worse is that Kotooshu didn't even go for a counter outer grip allowing himself to be be forced back and out in a straight line. Ridiculous. They showed a close up of Kotooshu's countenance after the bout, and dude is in that "feel sorry for myself" mode that Hokutoriki used to display. It's a feeling where something's not quite right but you don't want to say anything because you want people to feel sorry for you. All I can say is this is a man's game, and Kotooshu's 1-5 start is inexcusable. On the flipside, look at Tochiohzan and his 5-1 start considering he's fighting from the difficult M3 slot.

Ozeki Harumafuji met Komusubi Aran today, and Aran put up his best fight of the basho. Is this a case of Harumafuji being vulnerable? Probably. The two hooked up in the gappuri yotsu position from the tachi-ai, but Harumafuji made sure he enjoyed the lower stance. The result was a fairly straight-forward yori-kiri win for the Ozeki, but at least Aran tried in this one. With the win, Harumafuji only progresses to 3-3. Yokozuna Shmokozuna. Aran is already 0-6.

Ozeki Baruto at least enjoys a winning record, but that loss to Yoshikaze has really taken him out of the basho. Today against M2 Wakanosato he came with the moro-te-zuki tachi-ai, which means he simultaneously shoves both hands into his opponent from the tachi-ai. It worked to perfection as it knocked Wakanosato completely back to the edge where Baruto simply followed up with another one two punch to send Wakanosato off the dohyo in wham bam thank you ma'am style. Perfect de-ashi from Baruto, but at 4-2 his only role now is spoiler to the two Sekiwake.

Speaking of Sekiwake, the one we haven't talked about yet is Kakuryu who was manhandled by M1 Okinoumi in a straight up hidari yotsu contest. It often happens that when a rikishi is up for Ozeki promotion for the first time that there's so much going on in his head that he fails to concentrate on his sumo. Only the true great ones like the dai-Yokozuna aren't fazed by talk of Ozeki, but it's going to affect a guy like Kakuryu. The Kak's strategy at this point is to ensure that he wins his eight and then regroup starting in Kyushu. It's going to be tough for him to kachi-koshi though at 3-3 with a tougher schedule coming up in week 2.

In the Maegashira ranks, just when you thought M4 Tochinoshin was gaining some momentum, he went for an early pull in his bout against M2 Yoshikaze, and the move completely took him out of his rhythm. Shin is a belt guy, so when that failed pull attempt left him in a grapplin' match with Yoshikaze where both guys circle the ring looking for the next opening to pull, it's no surprise that Yoshikaze was the better rikishi today pulling an off balance Tochinoshin down for the upset win. Yoshikaze is just 2-4, but he's taken down two giants. Tochinoshin is 4-2 now after the boneheaded loss.

M5 Goeido exhibited his best sumo of the tournament; unfortunately it came against has-been M4 Tokitenku. For once Goeido decided to bull dog his way inside at the tachi-ai, and Tokitenku's only answer was to keep in step with his partner as he was quickly escorted back and out in two seconds flat. Goeido jumps to 4-2 with the win, but he's still go too much of a penchant for pulling to seriously become a sanyaku mainstay.

What the hell was M6 Takayasu doing going for a tachi-ai henka and cheap pull down against M5 Miyabiyama? He looked like a 12 year old kid trying cigarettes for the first time and selecting unfiltered Camels. After coughing and sputtering severely at the lame tachi-ai, Miyabiyama just slapped his sorry ass to the clay on his first shot. I see Takayasu working. He started off 2-0 but then dropped his next three, but attempting to henka and pull is not the way to get back on track. I love the dude, but I'm glad he failed miserably today.

Yesterday, M6 Wakakoyu won with a quick moro-te-zuki tachi-ai followed by an instant pull down, and while that moved worked on Tokitenku yesterday, M7 Tochinowaka brushed it off today parlaying his compromised opponent into a nice oshi-dashi win. I thought Tochinowaka showed great balance and footwork in this one, and he's already the next Tokusegawa. Thing about Tokusegawa (who was forced to retire for yaocho earlier in the year) is he was closing in on 30 years old. Tochinowaka is still young and has far more potential. Dude's 4-2 after a good win.

M11 Gagamaru shot to 5-1 today with an impressive win over M9 Sagatsukasa. I know there's a huge size difference between the two, but Sagatsukasa's like a roach. No, not because he's ugly but because he's so evasive and hard to squish. If I had a nickel for every time Sagatsukasa scored a victory from a counter attack, I may be able to lure Mario out of retirement. Anyway, the roach was looking for a corner in which to hide and then catch Gagamaru off balance, but Gentleman Gaga used perfect footwork to hone in on Sagatsukasa's antennae and fire off effective tsuppari that sent Sagatsukasa back and out in short order.

M11 Kitataiki joined Gagamaru at 5-1 after dispatching nemesis M12 Asasekiryu by disallowing Sexy to get in low and going for the force out kill before Asasekiryu could even get settled. Kitataiki's charge was so swift that Asasekiryu nary had time to counter to either side. Before I get too excited about my former ex, let's wait to see how he does a lot higher up the banzuke. For now, at least he can see himself on NHK's leaderboard.

And finally, let's conclude with none other M15 Takanoyama who picked up his first--and likely only--Makuuchi career win against M14 Shotenro who just stepped out of the ring like a dumbass. Takanoyama actually gained moro-zashi from the tachi-ai, and usually when a dude this tall gets moro-zashi, it's curtains for his opponent, but Takanoyama is so light that Shotenro actually stuffs his bra with the dude, so he clamped in tightly around both of Takanoyama's arms from the outside and forced him back and across kime-dashi style. The only problem was Shotenro's right foot accidentally stepped across the tawara before Takanoyama was driven out. They showed a replay, and I thought that Takanoyama's left heel was actually in the dirt before Shotenro stepped out, but I guess the judges figured this was as close to a win as Takanoyama would get, so they ruled in his favor. I don't know what's more upsetting for Shotenro...the fact that he really won today or the fact that he's only one bout ahead of Takanoyama in the win column.

Before I turn over the reins to Martin tomorrow, let me just comment on Masunoyama who was injured on day 4 causing him to withdraw from the basho. As you know, I was really high on this kid early on. I still am; however, I noticed from the first day that this guy has trouble stepping off of the dohyo after his bouts. Have you ever been in a movie theater and watched a super fat person come in and sit down? They don't have the strength in their knees or the dexterity to lower themselves into the seat, so they line their arse up with the chair and then sorta fall backwards into it hoping that their aim is good. It's like that with Masunoyama getting off the dohyo. He has to consciously place his foot in the correct place before stepping down, and then instead of a normal step before he's down to the floor, he kind of catches himself with the other leg and then uses the floor to stop his momentum. The whole point is the dude's too fat for his own good, and it's going to lead to even more injuries in the future. He was kyujo from this year's Hatsu basho, and now he's gone three tournaments later. Dude has so much potential, but not unless he shapes up. He doesn't necessarily to drop his weight; he just needs more muscle than fat. I noticed this early on and sure enough, he's gone after four days.

Alright, Marty, see if you can top that fat man in the movie theater analogy!