Day 9 Comments (Dr. Mario Kadastik reporting)
So, week two has started, and this is where things are supposed to get interesting. So at the start of the basho we had Hakuho's streak that by now would have passed Futabayama's with a few wins already. Then Hakuho lost to Kissy, and everyone sold their tickets. Then Baruto managed to keep on going with a win advantage over Hakuho, so the seats started to fill again until Homasho kicked a dent in that plate. So what do we have now left to look forward to? The leader group is big at one loss with Hakuho, Baruto, Kaio(!!!!), Toyonoshima, and Kyokutenho. Of those there's of course lots of talk about Kaio, who seems to have decided to actually move forward, and if he adds a bit of envelopes he actually comes up with a decent record (with not so decent methods). The last two are still there, but it'll take a miracle for them to still be in the competition in the last few days.

So it's all down to Hakuho vs. Baruto, and here we have the usual situation that Baruto has to beat Hakuho in regulation himself. Something that I'm not so sure he'll do with his current motivation level. But at the same time Hakuho seems to have changed form his usual poised self to a more reckless and trying type, so who knows?  If Bart comes out guns blazing and doesn't give the Yokozuna a moment's pause, maybe he'll pull it off.  But that's still days away, and both have to get there first.

So let's start with the scraps first where Okidoki was given Bush as a possible streak ender. He's namely gone 4-0 to then drop to 4-4. Bush has somehow found one win in the past eight days and is heading for a sure make-koshi. However the match wasn't an easy one for Okidoki. He did get a decent belt grip right from the start, but Bush isn't easy to move around. So Bush resisted and tried beltless throws a number of times without success. At some point Bush even played with a belt grip but still to no avail. In the end Oki went for a shitate-nage committing to it fully and getting Bush finally off balance to one leg where he could make him jump out. A win and a stop to the losing streak as well as a make koshi for Bush, but not a pretty bout.

Takamisakari was surprised at the tachi-ai by a henka from Tochinonada, and even though Nada gained a quick inside position, it wasn't enough to get the clown out who wiggled past a nodowa to for an inside grip. Nada quickly tried a pushout while Robo wasn't on a solid footing yet, but the survivor at the tawara did it again pushing the action back to the center of the ring where he mounted a counterattack that saw Nada flying out backwards. A quick and dirty bout, but it ended with a happy Takamisakari who now has two consecutive wins, woohoo.

Next up, two Mongolians met of whom one features a Chinese passport. Sokokurai has been doing pretty good considering how young he still is in the top ranks. Today Tokitenku ran past Sokokurai, who met Tenku, but quickly angled past him grabbing an arm in the process.   He then used that arm to angle himself to the manlove position where Tokitenku tried to pull a Baruto and survive, but even though he survived the initial pushout attempt he didn't manage to resist the second as his move to turn around cost him the balance. A sneaky win, but not a full henka from the "Chinese".

Moe is one of my favorite newcomers, but after his injury he hasn't been able to really exert his sumo to the extent that he can win with beautiful sumo. Today he got a simple matchup against Kasugao, whom he met, pulled, pivoted and sent on running. That's all there was to it. No sneaking around, just manhandling the opponent. Kasugao is the second guy to get a koshi this basho. It's the make type.

Big shot used to look good, he's a Mongolian ffs so he's supposed to. But of the last few basho he's not been that sure a bet. That stint in Juryo wasn't a manhandling of his opposition, and when he came back in the top division he was so-so. This basho however he's doing decent coming in with six wins and meeting Tosayutaka who's been average in every sense of the word. Shotenro came out with a tsuppari attack that did move the yukata erm yutaka back a bit. Not getting the win immediately, he slightly panicked and went for a pull. Luckily for him Tosa didn't recover quickly enough to return the favor. The second tsuppari barrage from Shotenro that followed was effective and sent Tosayutaka out to get his yukata. One more win and Bigshot has secured his stay in the division.

Lady Gaga had a terrible start to the basho, but has found some gravity in the last few bouts. Today he hoped to gravitate towards Koryu. Looking at the preparation of the match, I noticed that Lady Gaga had actually gravitated enough to pull the local geishas to the scene who looked a bit creepy sitting there a full ten or so of them in identical clothing and their white faces... Ugh, let's get back to the bout just in time to see Gaga attack with a double nodowa to Koryu's throat that was so effective that Koryu essentially slid backwards and out only needing a slight push at the edge. Seems Gaga has found the key to anti-gravity, maybe I should consult with him.

So one of the leader matches finally. The NHK has been blowing up the success of Toyonoshima to the size of a football field claiming him to be an actual contender for the next rank and filer yusho since oh so long ago. Today, Toyo came to finish the basics and get his KK, but to get it he'd have to get past Guido. Goeido has been off his game lately where he didn't dominate Juryo in his punishment basho nor has he been winning with solid technique so the mancrush of Mike has fallen to yet another ranker. Goeido charged hard and actually had Toyo in trouble for a moment. But Toyo has been listening to NHK, and he's coming to believe the stories about himself so he couldn't possibly lose. So while Go thrust him backwards, he actually moved with the flow and out of the way getting Go out of the movement. As Go recharged Toyo slid to the side and sent Go stumbling to the ground while Toyo just nicely ballerina'ed back to his place. So the first KK of the basho and the race continues.

And right from one yusho contender bout we get to the next one as Kyokutenho enters the dohyo to face off with the fat windmill Miyabiyama.  Fatman was one who could always push around everyone keeping them honest, but he's grown old and slow and doesn't have the de-ashi anymore meaning that almost anyone can in theory get past his tsuppari and cause earthquakes send him to the clay. And Kyokutenho isn't just a someone. But occasionally Miyabiyama remembers his old glory by using his opponent's strength against him. So as Kyokutenho went for a close fight and tried to push fatty into an upward position sending all his power to his arms and as Miya felt that he just slid to the side brushing the arms away, and as that happened all of Tenho's push and power turned against him as he was unable to regain his balance and instead fell forward. Oh well, one of the pretenders is out of the race. What a surprise... (I really hate the NOT jokes, hence not using it here though it seemed to fit in perfectly).

The next bout has no meaning whatsoever, so I decided to just give you the result. Kimurayama won after a few ugly attack-defend rallies from both. It really wasn't worth the bytes that describing it would have required.

To round up the first half, we were offered the matchup of Tamawashi and Tokusegawa. Both have looked very good this basho with 6-2 and 5-3 coming in respectively, but not just the score, both have done good sumo and not just stumbled around. Tamawashi started slow essentially standing up, and even though that should have been the end of it, he was able to raise up Toku.   He immediately tried to push Toku back and out, but just as they got to the straw his hands slipped allowing Tokusegawa to get inside and with both arms inside it was an easy pushout for Tokusegawa running across the dohyo and depositing Tamawashi on the other side. It was all Tokusegawa from the start so it was deserved.

The second half gets kicked off with Kokkai and Shimotori meeting. Neither have been of any consequence, but as this is the second half, I'll waste a few bytes. Kokkai attacked low and kept low, but Shimotori knows what he's doing so after positioning a bit he went for grips on both arms getting a right inside and left outside that he used to raise Kock up and started pushing on it until he came to the win. Yes, had to milk it a bit for excitement, but it was a decent bout in the end.

Next up, the Secretary went to check the pressure with Barometer. Both guys got a left hand inside grip, but without a decent right hand grip, they settled into a stalemate in the center of the ring. There was the occasional nudge and shove attempt, but nothing solid with regard to an attack. In the end, the decision came from Wakanosato's attempt to go for a kote-nage armlock throw, but got tripped and fell on his arse. And with that, Asasekiryu got his first real win this basho as his other "win" was the fusensho from not meeting Harry.

Giku the dog-like humper got Sneaky the legless. Both charged low and stopped each other. As Kotoshogiku felt around and decided he had a good enough grip, he turned to the inner dog and let it loose. Aminishiki did try to go maki-kae while being humped to oblivion, but he the dog was too tight and too horny for him to overcome. Kotoshogiku sucked moose balls the first half of the basho, but has started to show some spark in the last few days; let's see how he fares in the final six days. Both leave at 4-5.

Now as the bouts get more interesting I can finally turn off the TV where the Top Shop show was looking quite more interesting. You can never get enough of "And if you order right now you'll get XXX for free !!! And wait, if you order in the next 5 minutes we'll also throw in the CEO's daughter for one hour ... bah".  Anyway, Kisenosato has shown his killer self by ending the streak and winning every legitimate bout except to Baruto (the one to Kaio wasn't legit), and Homasho has taken more surprise scalps than I can count, so this just had to be a bout to wait for. And the actual fight didn't disappoint. Both stopped the other at the tachi-ai with neither gaining a grip. From this defensive posture they traded some tsuppari until Kise decided to go on the inside, and just as he was settling in to hidari yotsu Homey grabbed a quick right uwate, pivoted and threw Kisenosato to a roll down on the dohyo. This becomes yet another Homasho surprise victory in a series this basho. I think he'll get a special prize for sure if he gets his eight. Probably the fighting spirit one.

Kakuryu looked like he could do something staying undefeated a full three days and causing some to speculate (whitles), but then he went on to be his usual self coming in with 4-4. Kitataiki has had some serious opposition and being 3-5 is quite decent. However against Kakuryu, Kitataiki didn't have a chance as the Kak came with a vicious thrusting attack while keeping full control of his balance. It didn't end the bout as quickly as it might have, but no pull or push could move him for he didn't lose his focus or balance. Good win for the Kak here.

The big talk before the basho was whether Tochiohzan raises to the challenge to keep his Ozeki run going, for he needs at least ten this basho to even have the talks continues. It started off with a decent chance, but he's now gotten to 4-4 meaning he can't afford more than one more loss to even have a shot, but I think his results and his sumo have shown that he isn't ready for it yet. Today he was paired with Hakuba whom Demon Kogura claimed to be somewhat like Mainoumi (yeaaah, right), so on paper this bout was a no-brainer. Henkuba pulled a strong henka, but was caught by Oh. Oh then quickly tried to send the henkaster out, but lost his balance while Hakuba was still running out and put his hand down. A mono-ii was called as the gyoji was somewhat confused which way to point pointing first for Oh then to Hakuba. The slow motion showed no question about it sending Oh to his fifth loss and causing the Ozeki run to have no margin no more. An ugly match that was, yes.

Getting to the Ozeki we see Kotooshu taking on Takekaze. And Kaze hasn't been his usual crappy self, but instead has shown some of the best sumo in the top M rankers. I'm myself surprised to say that, but this man has turned a new leaf and done solid sumo against guys he used to lose for sure. And Takekaze went for the bank by immediately charging hard and actually gaining moro-zashi, but the trouble with that is that Takekaze is too small for the big Ozeki who has long, long arms. So even though Takekaze has the perfect grip, he couldn't do much with it allowing Kotooshu to pivot around and use his left uwate to send Takekaze to the clay. It was great effort from the bigger Kaze, but he'll need more experience to win. But it was a good attempt. The Ozeki however sucked to have allowed the smaller guy to gain moro-zashi on him as when next he meets Toyonoshima, he'll lose from this position.

And now to the pretender. I have to say, Kaio has seen at least three legit bouts this basho and gone 2-1 on those. However the rest of the wins I'm really hard pressed to believe them. They have been too easy and a number of those showed guys in excellent shape absolutely not trying to fight for the belt or evade his attempts. Today he got the Russian Aran, who in reality has nothing to lose but money to win, so don't look for anything spectacular. From the get-go, Kaio got his favorite right uwate and all Aran got was a slim left inside grip. It was a test of muscles from there, but it wasn't enough for Aran. I have to say, I actually believe this bout might have been legit without digging through the replays too much, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. And with that the Bear does the unthinkable and gets his KK on day 9 and remains in the Yusho race. Could you have believed that if I'd said that before the basho? No I didn't think so and I still don't.

And the penultimate bout of the day (you don't really think the next one can be that, right) features Baruto taking on another white guy, Tochinoshin. I know Baruto usually says that his first objective is kachi-koshi, so if he gets it today does he turn his eyes towards the cup? We'll see. The two charged and immediately went for grip with both gaining a right hand inside grip. From there it was a pause while both considered the game plan and what to do with the other hand. Tochinoshin tried to improve his but got blocked at all attempts by Baruto. Baruto himself went for maki-kae on the left, but not getting it immediately changed gears and went for the left outside grip. Now with migi-yotsu, Tochinoshin knew he only had seconds before the inevitable loss, so he dropped his hips and tried to outmuscle Baruto. I have to say, Shin had to have balls to attempt a tsuri-dashi there, but he should have known that it wouldn't work against the master of Baruto-dashi, so Baruto dropped his own hips not lifting even a millimeter and instead turned the tactic around lifting Tochinoshin up and around to take him over the straw. It was called yori-kiri because Shin's toes touched the ground before going out, but it was a tsuri-dashi in reality. So ... KK in the books, still in the Yusho race as a co-leader, what will Baruto do? We'll see that already tomorrow when Baruto meets Kakuryu, one of the guys who can test his mental state. In any case, I called him to congratulate on the kachi-koshi and asked if he has a spot ready for the cup. He claimed to have it always ready and that after watching today's last bout anyone can be beaten unless he'll have a working accident. I advised him to keep off the strong stuff and to fight on, so let's see how it goes this basho.

I had originally already written the bout down considering that a no-brainer, but when I watched the bout it was nowhere close to a no-brainer. Yoshikaze charged hard while Hak thought to just pull him down not going for the belt. However Yoshikaze didn't fall to that and charged hard to the middle section of Hakuho pushing the Yokozuna back and ... well not out, but it was close as Hak circled back grabbing Yoshikaze's arm and pulling him along. I haven't watched the replay 10 times yet, but I think the gyoji actually contributed to Hak not falling down there by getting in the way. Hak managed to pull Yoshi off balance and towards the straw as the two separated. Yoshikaze pivoted and charged again, but Hakuho just slapped him to the ground. It was a win for Hakuho in the end, but he sure as hell was in danger of yet another upset here. If he keeps fighting such shaky sumo, I actually think Bart might have a shot this basho.

So the day ends, the board remains largely unchanged with just Kyokutenho gone from it, but that was expected. Now Kaio will soon drop out too, and we'll be left with Toyonoshima, Hakuho and Baruto. The first one we'll have to be tested against the top rankers before I'll commit to his chance at all, but the latter two both can take it this basho and it's mostly up to Bart not to screw it up before day 14. So let's hope Martin can claim Yusho for Baruto on that day. See you again in January.

Day 8 Comments (Clancy Kelly reporting)
Its a once proud entity that through abuse and gross mishandling has devolved into a weakened, diseased, one-headed parody of vitality and power.

But enough about Marios penis. We here to TALK about SUMO, get it? Sumotalk? I just now noticed that its two words put together. Man, the things we miss in life.

Like the first eight bouts of Day 8, which normally would bother me about as much as a hair on my breakfast (when I have my wife for breakfast, that is), but in this case was a bit annoying because there were a few tussles, if you will (and you WILL), I was jonesin to see.

BUT being the sumo former spurt that the ST banner says I am, I can ascertain (although they say be careful what you "ascertain"-or youll make an ASC out of ERT and AIN) from the kimarite what transpired.

Koryu prolly shivved Shotenro in the ribs at tachi-ai with a despicable hatakikomi, Mokonami prolly slipped like smoke through Miyabiyamas windmilling tsuppari for the yoritaoshi, Goeido prolly pwned Tokitenku from the word go for his yoritaoshi, and Toyonoshima (at right) used his quick lateral movement and tugboat instincts to spin Tochinonada around and male escort him out via oshiridashi. For those of you who saw the bouts, howd I do?

The first bout I can give you an honest accounting of was betwixt and between Tosayutaka and Tokusegawa. I like both men for different reasons, Toasty for his moxie, and Gawa for being the only "river" in the top two divisions filled with "winds" and "mountains" and "islands." Tokusegawa got a quick outside left belt that spelled immediate domination of the much smaller W10, who tried to resist, only to find himself down by a right hand to the neck. Call it a beatin.

I reordered the periodic table according to date of discovery while Yoshikaze and Tamawashi felt each other out with THREE false starts, or "maindofaguzu" in Japanese. When the festivities eventually commenced, The Mawashi had the initial advantage, lost it as Starbuck worked through the foam and rushed into a double latte, uhm, I mean double inside, but with timing a barista would be proud of Tamawashi twisted the Caffeinated One down like, like, like frozen yogurt! Damn, should have saved that awesome gag for the Kotooshu match.

Missed the next bout cause I couldnt be fuqt, as Si says, but the next fight I DID see and man was it spectacular (if by "spectacular" youll allow me to mean "bollocks"). Like a meeting of two magnetic south poles, both guys slipped to each others left at tachi-ai, and while Jimmy Maxwell rolled over in the Scottish peat, Hakuba threw Korporal Kokkai to the floor with a strong belt grip.

Kimurayama stood no chance today vs. Takekaze as his left arm seemed to be on injured reserve while he thrust with his right ONLY! and as a man who loathes eating with a fork, let me tell ya foks, eating with one chopstick just taint goan git the job done.

Right about at this time they highlighted two old matches of Onaruto Oyakata, former Ozeki Dejima, who was the Day 8 JPese side sumo-expert-sitting-with-the-crowd-and-having-people-do-weird-poses-behind-him guy. One bout was a straight up win over Akebono, and the other a win over Takanohana in the July 1999 basho, the tourney where Dejima took his one and only yusho. Oddly enough they passed on showing the final bout of that basho, where Dejima beat Akebono in a playoff for the yusho. Maybe because it was a henka that Im sure was generously paid for?

Ken Keltner was up next against Asasekiryu and while Sexy got a fast inside left, prison guard Kisenosato went into lockdown mode on it. They remained thus for a spell, and finally the crouching tiger Sexy gave up and pulled out, but this only allowed Kid to get in deeper when they reloaded, and this time he was able to push the W2 to the edge where he kind of bolted him to the clay.

Occasionally you get a veteran on the down side of his career who decides no games, no sidestepping, no hijinks, nothing Shneaky, just goin straight at my foe and let the better man win. Well, Aminishiki was mosdef the better man today, as he threw some propers to Mike and Kenji by oldskooling Tochiohzan in ass kicking, forward moving sumo. A series of thrusts blocked any chance of the Sekiwake getting in, and after a brief parting, they did the exact same thing again, only this time Toe Cheese ended up outside the ring. Nothing to be too ashamed of for Oh Snap here, losing to "any given Sunday" Bedroll Boy (Im sorry, but if you dont recognize Mikes Day 6 line "Im not sure of M2 Aminishiki's morning routine, but what I do know is that he gets out of his bedroll and immediately wraps it around his right leg" as the gold standard for sumo humor then you need to change your name to Shapiro and start learning how to mimic Woody Allen). Still, a Sekiwake who wants the Champion rank needs to man up to the tune of at least 6-2 by Day 8 (and losing to guys like Sexy and Shneaky aint gonna cut it). Dude has met only one Ozeki to date, and has guaranteed losses to Hakuho and Kaio coming up and a likely fall to Kotooshu. At 4-4, who here sees a KK acomin? I certainly dont.

Kotoshogiku must have been inspired by the Degyptians presence in the hizzouse because he rhinod out Kakuryu in with ease if not aplomb, his last shove causing The Kak to spill into the crowd. Gooey!

Nothing that anyone can say will convince me that long time great Ozeki Kaio is winning the majority of his bouts on the up and up. Whether he is involved, or its done on his behalf, I havent a clue. What I do know is that he beats guys who employ the most inexplicable strategies against him, as if they dont know his reputation and age. Today Homasho misfired on several shoves when he had the Ozeki at the edge, at one point even backing away and letting him escape. In the center now, they truly parted, with Kaio at one point standing there completely still and unoccupied. Put a hat on the guy and a newspaper under his arm and hes waiting for the goddamned bus. Homasho, realizing that the bout was still going on, rushed in toward the man world famous for locking foes left arms up with his right by placing his left arm directly under Kaios right pit. Crunch! and now the only question is does Homasho want an injury or a loss? Ive already given this man who has become a Jokezeki more time than he deserves. If he has legit bouts mixed in with the vaudeville its become too difficult to figure out which is which. Its shameful and borderline WWF and he should retire now.

(I should note that there was a sweet young thing positioned all day long directly behind the West side wrestlers as they went through their pre-bout routines, and she was showing a nice plunging neckline that took my mind off things to some extent. But seven Kleenex later I was right back into pouting mode.)

Kitataiki has and had no chance vs. Baruto, but the Estonian nearly screwed the pooch by stepping out at the edge, but he was able to put enough of a paw on his foe to drive him out while staying in. It looked like Biomass was dishing out some "gets out my face" dame-oshi at the end, but I think it was more a matter of adhering to Newtons Third Law of Motion by using the energy of a healthy push on Kitataiki to keep himself in the ring. Evidently Baruto learned a thing or two from the time he spent with the Fantastic Dr. Kadastik in Tokyo this past Sept. (and also nice to know that those Bohring elitist bastards at CERN still have some respect for ol’ Isaac and his quaint musings).

Hi, Im Gemini. What are you? Looking like near mirror images of each other, Kotooshu and Tochinoshin went chest to chest in a classic yotsu battle of big men. The only problem is that the Ozekis arms are just longer than No Shines, and this led to Kotooshu getting enough belt to shove the Komosubi back, wait for the inevitable resistance, and then use his foes momentum to drag him forward and down. Great sumo vs a strong foe, but as usual this November, Kotooshu is as mixed a bag as can be found in this sport.

Cliché as it sounds, the only thought I had in the Hakuho/Aran bout is, Did you get the number of the truck? Really, how to even call it a bout? Aran got one arm in for a second, but the Yokozuna simply pulled him in tight and dryhumped him out. Safe sex aficionados the world over rejoiced, while sumo fans wondered if this is all there is?

Apropos of exactly nothing, I just want to say that I miss Kotomitsuki.

A few of you may have noticed that there was no report from Matra Martin yesterday, and thats because Sumotalk has decided to move in a different direction in 2011. We thank Martin for all his efforts over the past 25 years (or does it just SEEM like 25 years?) and wish him well in his future endeavors. Hes a biddy and fisticated lad, not just some sammich eatin gummint sumbitch.

Mario churns the butter for ya on Day 9

Day 7 Comments (Kenji Heilman reporting)
In largely ho-hum fashion, everyone won who was supposed to win on day 7 did so. Seven rikishi have established themselves as front runners as we head into the second half on Sunday. Let's take a look at some of the heavy hitters who are toward the top of this leader board.

Homasho (5-2) defeated Yoshikaze (5-2) in one of the more anticipated bouts of the day, and it did not disappoint. Homasho squeaked by via yori-taoshi that was reviewed for a possible last ditch utchari by Yoshikaze. The bout went back and forth with both rikishi displaying their strengths, but it was a subtle movement at the end that may have given Homasho the nod. As both rikishi were falling, Homa pulled back his right elbow to help ensure his hand didn't hit the clay first. It appears the right call was made as the replay showed the Yoshi's back did make contact first before any part of the twisting Homasho's body.

Kisenosato (5-2) wasted no time getting hidari-yotsu, migi-uwate position on Kakuryu (4-3), followed it up with an aggressive gaburi-yori to convincingly usher out his counterpart. This was a one-sided affair. Kise is beginning to assert himself more as a permanent presence.

Baruto (6-1) threw off Tochiohzan (4-3) at the tachi-ai with a subtle left hari-te, just enough to rattle Tochi and allow the Estonian to quickly grab the left uwate. Tochi was not able to shake off this big paw as Baruto followed through just as quickly for the yori-kiri win.

Kotooshu (4-3) beat Hakuba (1-6) in another one-sided affair. Oshu immediately got inside on the right and guided the defensive Hakuba out, twisting him upright along the way for good measure. It took seven days, but Kotooshu finally has more wins than losses on his ledger.

Next it was time for the "Kaio call". Amid a sea of rhythmic clapping, Kaio took on Asasekiryu. At least this one had some jockeying back and forth, and it was a battle on the belt as you might expect. Seki did a good job keeping Kaio off his left hip, which is anyone's objective #1 against this Ozeki. Eventually Kaio (6-1) managed a shitate on the other side, which set up a kote-nage (hook throw) from his strong (right) side. Even though it was not from the belt, this throw was enough to turn Seki sideways and disrupt his balance. Shamefully, Seki (1-6) absolutely gave up upon this turn of events even though he was still a couple steps from the rope. I don't think it was as much Kaio's yori-kiri, as the call indicated, as it was Seki's back peddling himself out of the ring. Effort like this doesn't help Sumo's already dire popularity problem.

In the finale Hakuho (6-1) put on another clinic against Kitataiki (3-4). The Yokozuna swooped over for the left uwate immediately, after which Kita looked like a kid in trouble for bad behavior trying to get away from his dad's grip. After jostling around for bit, Hakuho delivered a dashi-nage with that left that spun Kita around and caused him to step outside the ring. Another very convincing win from the king of the hill.

Going into day 8 we've got Hakuho, Baruto, Kaio, Kyokutenho, Toyonoshima, Tokitenku and Shotenro atop the leaderboard with 6-1 records. Here's to Kaio somehow stringing together at least a few more consecutive wins to give this Kyushu crowd something to get excited about to wrap up 2010.

Day 6 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
I enjoyed Kenji's introduction yesterday because a Kyushu basho can't come and go without at least one of us talking about how meaningful the tournament was when we both lived and worked in Fukuoka. Believe it or not, in those days it was hard to get any seats besides the block of cheap seats that go on sale each morning (called toujitsu-ken). In fact, the last time either of us saw the sumos live was back in 2004 when we both happened to be in Japan on business and met up in Fukuoka on day 14. I still remember that Asashoryu defeated Chiyotaikai that day to pick up the yusho. We both bought cheap seats and then worked our way down to the open masu-seki area back then which put us about 15 rows up. If we were to do that now, we could probably go down as low as the 5th row right behind all those ugly geisha. I've already talked at length about my reasons for the declining popularity in sumo, and I think it's a problem that the Sumo Association has know idea how to fix.

It seems as if the rikishi also have this glum attitude towards the tournament because we're only six days in now, and no one's undefeated. Oh, did I spoil the outcome of basho leader Shotenro's bout? Damn. Let's start from the meaningful bouts today and then work our way down.

Said M16 Shotenro was paired against M11 Tokitenku, who executed as pretty'a hari-zashi tachi-ai as you please slapping with the left hand and getting the right hand sufficiently on the inside of Shotenro. This was key as Shotenro must set his opponents up with tsuppari. With the bout in hand already, Tokitenku used his left arm for an ottsuke push into Shotenro's right armpit area that easily aided in driving Shotenro back and across without argument. I chortled a bit when Yoshida Announcer lamented, "Ah, there goes our last undefeated rikishi." Didn't we all lament, brother; didn't we all lament. The result leaves both rikishi at 5-1 and tied for the yusho lead (I'm a glass is half full kinda guy).

With the pressure on, Yokozuna Hakuho looked to keep pace with Shotenro by welcoming M3 Homasho fresh off of his win over Baruto. Hakuho implemented a hari-zashi tachi-ai of his own slapping with the right hand, and as Homasho dove in low, the Yokozuna just backed up a half step and slapped Homasho to the dirt with some oomph. Nothing more to see here, so lets' move along as Hakuho stands at 5-1 and Homasho at an impressive 4-2.

Ozeki Baruto looked to overcome his lazy loss to Homasho yesterday by fighting M2 Asasekiryu today. In an identical start to yesterday's bout, Bart grabbed the right outer grip over the top and got his left arm on the inside to sufficiently deny Asasekiryu moro-zashi. In yesterday's bout, Baruto got lazy and allowed Homasho to get dual inside grips, but he wouldn't make that same mistake against Asasekiryu today getting fresh by holding Asasekiryu's right wrist. As the two grappled for position on the not belt side, Baruto suddenly backed up a step and pulled Asasekiryu forward and down by that right outer grip. Like Makiko Uchidate, it wasn't the prettiest move, but it got the job done. Baruto is about as sloppy'a 5-1 as you'll ever see. I don't doubt Mario a bit now when he reported that Baruto feels unmotivated. Asasekiryu is 1-5.

Ozeki Kaio continued his hot streak today against Sekiwake Kakuryu slyly moving to his right and grabbing Kakuryu's extended left wrist. Continuing his lateral motion, the Ozeki just yanked Kakuryu right over to the edge and out in about two seconds. For all you nerds, this is what it must have looked like when the sand people ripped of C3PO's arm in Star Wars. Kaio is 5-1, and it's my opinion the last two days were legit bouts. A yaocho is always over in 2-3 seconds, and while this one was over quick, it was Kaio's henka that did the job. The Kak will be happy with his 4-2.

Ozeki Kotooshu actually came in to the day at 2-3, but a bout against M3 Kitataiki will usually cure what ails you. The Ozeki forced the bout to hidari-yotsu from the tachi-ai, and his left inside position was so good, the bout was over at this point. Kotooshu drove his gal back quickly securing moro-zashi in the process and then just knocked Kitataiki on his fanny beyond the straw leading with the right inside position. When the kimari-te is yori-taoshi, and the guy who wins doesn't fall over, you know we've witnessed an ass-kicking. Still, Kotooshu is only 3-3, the same record as Kitataiki.

When will Japan ever get a break in finding a new hope? Sekiwake Tochiohzan recently overtook M1 Kisenosato, so what happened when the two met up today? Kisenosato made the Sekiwake look like a newbie using an effective ottsuke push with his left arm coupled with his right arm driving into Tochiohzan's neck. The surge set up the hidari-yotsu bout where Kisenosato quickly took charge and wrapped Tochiohzan up neat as a bowtie easily forcing him back and out. Both rikishi stand at 4-2, but Tochiohzan was dominated here.

I'm not sure of M2 Aminishiki's morning routine, but what I do know is that he gets out of his bedroll and immediately wraps it around his right leg. I guess that's why he resorted to the henka today against Komusubi Tochinoshin moving to his left and grabbing the cheap outer grip, which he used of course to spin Tochinoshin around and out. On one hand, Tochinoshin can feel slighted today as he falls to 2-4, but on the other hand, Aminishiki has been so gimpy this basho that how can you not expect a henka coming in? Aminishneaky lives up to his name as he limps to 3-3.

Rounding out the sanyaku, Komusubi Aran and M1 Kotoshogiku hooked up in the hidari-yotsu pose from the tachi-ai whereupon the Geeku went excited dog and immediately began the dry humps. As he slowly moved the Russian back, Kotoshogiku grabbed a right frontal grip as Aran did basically what he's done the whole basho...nothing. The force-out win was decisive as Kotoshogiku moves to 2-4. Aran is a paltry 1-5.

In the Maegashira ranks, two 4-1 rikishi clashed in M5 Yoshikaze and M6 Tokusegawa, but Yoshikaze ensured that it wouldn't be a fair fight henka'ing to his left. Tokusegawa survived in fine fashion, but with no sniff of Cafe's belt, the two traded wild tsuppari with Yoshikaze looking for well-timed pulls and Tokusegawa looking to grab anything. All he got was a brief arm around Yoshikaze's neck, but the veteran slipped out of that and behind Tokusegawa shoving him out from behind  with a serious wedgie to pick up the ugly win. Yoshikaze is tied for the lead at 5-1 while Tokusegawa falls to 4-2.

M9 Toyonoshima kept tightened up his pits leaving his arms in tight resulting in a flustered M12 Bushuyama who couldn't get to the belt or the inside. A few seconds in, Toyonoshima moved to his right and quickly slapped the Dolly Yama down for the hataki-komi win. Toyonoshima is also on fire at 5-1 while the enlightened Bushuyama falls to 1-5.

M9 Kyokutenho moved to 5-1 himself forcing his bout against M11 Mokonami to hidari-yotsu where the Chauffeur grabbed the right frontal belt grip using it to easily back Moe back out to a 2-4 record.

Leading the way at 4-2 was the quiet M8 Tamawashi who was dominated by M10 Gagamaru's crushing tsuppari attack from the tachi-ai, but Gagamaru's sumo is about a stable as a Hollywood celebrity NOT on medication, so somehow The Mawashi was able to barely pull at Gagamaru at the ring's edge causing Gaga The Hutt to slip and touch his hand down a split second before Tamawashi stepped out. A mono-ii was called where it was correctly ruled that Gagamaru touched down first. The Georgian was visibly upset as he left the dohyo before bowing to his opponent, so he was called back to do it. As he stepped off the dohyo for the second time, I'm pretty sure those were tears flowing down his red face as he ends up 1-5. If he really was crying, I like the emotion, so hopefully it lights a fire under his ass.

M10 Tosayutaka engaged in a sloppy slap fest with M13 Tochinonada and then played with major fire settling into the hidari-yotsu fight, Tochinonada's specialty. But the Gentle Giant was already running on fumes a year ago, so Tosayutaka picked up his first ever win of the Giant wrenching him back and out with a frontal belt grip. Ballsy stuff from Tosayutaka as he joins the 4-2 ranks. Tochinonada is 3-3.

M14 Miyabiyama kept M16 Okinoumi at 4-2 using what else but the lumbering tsuppari that forced OkiDoki into counter thrusts himself. But pushing is not Okinoumi's game, so Miyabiyama was easily able to time a pull that completely threw Okinoumi off balance enabling the Sheriff to push him out from behind. Miyabiyama gets back to .500 with the win.

And finally, the highlight of the basho so far was obviously Clancy's ode the ramblin gamblin rikishi, so let's close with M14 Goeido he kicked things off by kicking M15 Kasugao's ass. If you must know the details, Goeido seized the migi-yotsu stance from the tachi-ai and had the Kimchi Kid forced back and across the straw without argument moving to 4-2 in the process. Kasugao is 1-5.

Old school Sumotalk continues for the fourth day in a row as Kenji returns tomorrow.

Day 5 Comments (Kenji Heilman reporting)
Hello everyone. Mike and I have a special place in our hearts for Kyushu since we both lived and worked there, so to that end we look forward to this basho every year. It saddens me to see such an empty arena- so empty that it seems hard to believe you're watching a real basho instead of some sort of practice session. Even the sights and sounds seem hollow this month in the Fukuoka Kokusai Center.

With the Hakuho win streak no longer an attraction, I reckon the fans must turn to Hometown Hero Kaio for inspiration. Well, he is delivering. Kaio (4-1) overcame Kitataiki (3-2) in a show of stamina for such an old fart. After a couple unsuccessful attempts, Kaio finally got the right uwate while retreating from a Kitataiki offensive. He then unleashed his patented uwate-nage just in time at the tawara to the delight of the sparse crowd. Could this be the last Kyushu for Kaio? I ask myself this every year. His effort this basho is making this question less compelling, which is good for Kyushu and sumo alike.

In a mild surprise, Homasho (4-1) beat previously undefeated Baruto (4-1) to take some air out of the Estonian's good start. It was quite un-Homasho like actually, as he took the initiative the whole way instead of the defensive stance that he typically employs. Homa got moro-zashi and squeezed the big Ozeki to the point where even Baruto couldn't use his height and reach to overcome it. A yori-taoshi win was the result.

Kisenosato (3-2) dropped Kotooshu (2-3) to continue building his case for Shukun-sho honors. This makes 1 Yokozuna and 2 Ozeki to comprise his 3-win total. There was nothing earth shattering here, Kise simply out worked Oshu. The bout did go back and forth a bit and had some excitement, but eventually Oshu ran out of steam and essentially gave up and broke the tawara as he was retreating during one of the momentum shifts. Yori-kiri was the call.

Hakuho (4-1) displayed his textbook intensity and suffocation against countryman Asasekiryu (1-4). The Yokozuna got the uwate and quickly moved forward to an easy yori-kiri win. There seems to be no post-streak lull as it looks every bit like he could click off another long string of W's.

A couple of other things of note include both Sekiwake wrapping up the first third with wins, bringing both Kakuryu and Tochiohzan to 4-1 records. Tochiohzan in particular looked great in dismantling Kotoshogiku (1-4). Finally, we have only one Makuuchi rikishi remaining with a perfect record and it's Shotenro way down at the bottom of the division sitting at 5-0. Who, you say? Shotenro. I know, I just figured we'd give him some time in the limelight while we have the opportunity.

Mike's back tomorrow.

Day 4 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
The biggest news heading into day 4 was the expected withdrawal of Ozeki Harumafuji. Even when he's completely healthy, Harumafuji can barely win nine bouts these days, so after sustaining an injury in September during the exhibition season that left him unable to perform any keiko prior to Kyushu, it was a no-brainer that he wouldn't be able to last the fortnight. There's no sense in trying to at least fight that first week as a badge of honor because if you're injured, the last thing you need to be doing is fighting 150 KG dudes on a hard mound of clay. Harumafuji made the correct decision in getting the hell out of there as fast as he did.

Another news article that caught my attention heading into the day included the picture at right published by the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shinbun, by far the best newspaper in Japan. The article focused on the immediate downturn in interest towards the Kyushu basho now that Hakuho's win streak has been broken. The paper reported the sharp increase of masu-seki seating (the non-nosebleeds) that suddenly hit the online auction sites as soon as Hakuho lost. Needless to the say, the going rate is well below the face value of the tickets. I'm often harsh in my comments towards the Japanese media, but the Mainichi Shinbun definitely painted a perfect picture here, which in this case is worth a thousand words.

I doubt I can manage a thousand words of my own to cover the action today, but let's get to it anyway. I quite enjoyed not having the first half bouts to comment on for day 2. I mean, really, what the hell am I supposed to say about the M15 Koryu - J2 Sadanofuji matchup that saw a sloppy tsuppari-ai end with Koryu barely pulling his opponent down in the end leaving both rikishi at 1-3?

Or why bother with M14 Miyabiyama (2-2) who obliterated a listless M15 Kasugao (1-3) with a lumbering tsuppari attack into the Korean's neck backing him out in three seconds and then dumping him to the clay for good measure with a left belt throw after the Kimchi Kid had clearly stepped out?

I could also waste my time talking about how M16 Okinoumi moved to 4-0 assuming the quick hidari-yotsu stance from the tachi-ai and driving M13 Sokokurai (2-2) back and out in a flash thanks in large part to the fact that Sokokurai fights best from the migi-yotsu position, but who the hell cares?

M16 Shotenro moving to 4-0 after a fierce tsuki attack (not oshi mind you) against M13 Tochinonada (2-2) that sent him back once, twice, three times a lady before the Big Shot reversed momentum throwing the Gentle Giant down with a right tottari could be compelling fodder IF it occurred higher in the ranks.

Same goes for M14 Goeido who used a low tachi-ai against M12 Takamisakari immediately driving the Cop back and out before belly flopping to the dirt himself at the edge leaving both rikishi at 2-2 and causing Takamisakari to employ that fake limp after a loss he uses as he walks down the hana-michi.

I furthermore have nothing to say about M11 Tokitenku (3-1) gaining moro-zashi at the tachi-ai and immediately driving M11 Mokonami (1-3) back and out in seconds.

I guess to some people it would be worth mentioning that M10 Tosayutaka (2-2) picked up his first win in 8 tries against M12 Bushuyama (1-3) by backing out of a brief hidari-yotsu stance only to revert to migi-yotsu and spring a surprise force-out attack that Bushuyama could not answer, but those kinda of numbers don't impress me.

And when have I ever cared about M9 Kyokutenho (3-1) this low in the ranks even when he does assume the migi-yotsu position against M10 Gagamaru (1-3) and actually tries to tsuri-dashi him out before just dry-humping him back and across for the eventual win after failing to even lift Gag-me-maru off the ground a centimeter with that tsuri attempt?

I would stop this one sentence nonsense right here and now if M9 Toyonoshima (3-1) had assumed the manlove position against M8 Tamawashi after a wild tsuppari-ai where Toyonoshima quickly shoved, evaded, and pulled finally getting Tamawashi (2-2) off balance and turned around 180 degrees, but since he opted to just push him out from behind instead of give him the love, I'm miffed.

Yeah right...see if I comment at all on M7 Kotokasuga's easy moro-zashi position obtained from the tachi-ai and subsequent right sukui-nage throw of M8 Shimotori (2-2) that saw Momma Kas pick up his first win.

And no offense to M7 Kimurayama (3-1) who was immediately pushed back to the brink by M6 Tokusegawa but managed to back pedal around the ring successfully pulling Tokusegawa down to the clay--barely--as he gave chase, but I'm just not going to comment at all on the first half bouts.

So...let's start at the top today and work our way down beginning with Yokozuna Hakuho who was paired against M2 Aminishiki. Hakuho is back on top of his game, and it showed today as he forced the action to migi-yotsu and began bodying Aminishiki back even before he gained a left outer grip. The left outer came towards the end, but the gimpy Aminishiki was completely overwhelmed in this one as Hakuho scored the textbook yori-kiri win. Hakuho moves to 3-1 and is still in complete control of who takes the yusho this basho. Aminishiki falls to 2-2, which is impressive when you consider he doesn't look 100%.

In the Ozeki ranks, Kaio welcomed M1 Kisenosato in a bout that went to hidari yotsu and saw Kisenosato up high offering non-committal dry humps (sounds like my love life in college). Kisenosato managed to body Kaio back to the edge, but the Kid purposefully...I mean made a costly mistake by putting his right arm high around the Ozeki's neck as if to offer a kubi-nage throw. Kaio of course slipped right out of it with the help of a left scoop motion and conveniently found himself behind the M1 now where he easily pushed him out from behind to pick up his third win. I am really having a hard time buying any Kaio win these days. Yesterday against Tochinoshin, I watched the replay and the Georgian's body movements were correct, but he wasn't doing anything with his hands...not going for the belt (until he was on his way out) or any inside position. Anyway, there are just too many signs these days from Kaio's opponents like purposefully forcing the bout to hidari-yotsu (to give Kaio the right outer) or going for a kubi-nage when your in full control or attacking way too high. Kaio's 3-1 on paper, but I'm not buying any of it. Even that picture at left...it looks like to me that Kisenosato is prepared to go out, and so he's just stepping carefully so as to not suffer a fluke injury.  Furthermore, Kaio has beaten three quality opponents; yet, that picture above is the only action shot I've been able to find simply because there hasn't been any action.  Kisenosato can afford his 2-2 record at this point.

I tried to be nice to Kotooshu on day 2 and give him the bendoubt that his feet slipped after getting his ass handed to him by Aminishiki, but getting de-cleated by M3 Homasho is flat out inexcusable. Homasho completely controlled this bout beginning with a low, torpedo tachi-ai that kept the Ozeki away from the belt. Instead of attempting to dig in, Kotooshu went for a horrible pull attempt, but Homasho was on the move like nerd to toy light sabre and got his left arm in so deep that he was able to bully Kotooshu to the edge and then send him sprawling into a summersault with a scoop throw despite a late right outer grip from the Bulgarian. Kotooshu has been sloppy as ever in Kyushu as he falls to 2-2. And don't look now; Homasho is 3-1 if you need him!

Sloppy's not quite the word to use for Ozeki Baruto this basho, but after reading the Doc's comments yesterday stemming from his interview with the BioMass, it's easy to see that Baruto is worn down a bit mentally. Still, he crushed M1 Kotoshogiku by grabbing a lightening quick right outer grip from the tachi-ai, and once he denied the Geeku moro-zashi by getting his left arm to the inside, Susan Boyle started singing. The force-out came swift as Baruto skated to 4-0 and leads the basho. Mario needs to get back on the phone with Baruto and remind him that this basho is his best chance to pick up that obligatory career yusho. Hakuho proved in 2009 that he was content with letting the yusho escape him for good cause, and now's as good'a time as any. Kotoshogiku is listless at 1-3.

Sekiwake Kakuryu mistimed a slap at the tachi-ai against Komusubi Tochinoshin, and it left the Sekiwake upright and completely exposed. Tochinoshin took advantage and quickly drove the Kak back to the edge, and even though Kakuryu somehow managed moro-zashi as he back-pedaled, Tochinoshin pressed their chests together, so the taller lad will always have the advantage here. With two outer grips, Tochinoshin swung Kakuryu to the side sort of like a tsuri attempt, and then took complete advantage from there bodying Kakuryu back and out to his first loss. Shin's record ain't too shabby either as he now stands at 2-2.

Rounding out the sanyaku, Sekiwake Tochiohzan welcomed Komusubi Aran, a rikishi he hadn't beaten in seven tries coming in. That must have been on Toe Cheese's mind at the tachi-ai because he only offered some timid shoves, but Aran wasn't necessarily out for blood himself, so the two ended up in the hidari-yotsu position by default. With neither party seemingly willing to mount a charge, Tochiohzan went for as slow'a maki-kae as you care to see with the right hand, but Aran is so off his game at the moment that he seemed oblivious. Sucks for him because once Tochiohzan got moro-zashi, it was curtains as the Sekiwake marched the Russian back and across in short order after obtaining moro-zashi. Maybe that loss to Homasho doesn't look so bad now for Tochiohzan, who stands at 3-1. Aran is like that IT guy who decorates his work cube with Lego action figures. In other words, he hasn't scored yet.

In the Maegashira ranks, M3 Kitataiki continued his run hitting M5 Yoshikaze at the center of the ring and then immediately going for a quick pulldown. I didn't have a huge problem with the early pull since 1) I have a crush on Kitataiki, and 2) Yoshikaze didn't hit hard at the tachi-ai and was just standing there. The result was a ho-hum hataki-komi win for Kitataiki that left both rikishi sitting on 3-1.

Speaking of dudes who can't score, M4 Henkaba hakuba'd to his right at the tachi-ai, but counterpart Takekaze read the move like a dirty magazine and slapped Hakuba's sorry ass to the clay in a second or two. Takekaze struts to 2-2 with the win while Hakuba and Aran will prolly go see the new Harry Potter movie together at 0-4.

And finally, if I haven't lulled you to sleep enough by now, the M6 Kokkai - M5 Wakanosato matchup should seal the deal. The Korporal unwisely settled for a hidari-yotsu bout at the tachi-ai, but Wakanosato doesn't seem to have much left in the tank this basho, so after a long, boring affair, Kokkai musta made a move at some point because by the time I was able to push the Play button again after watching the bout in visual fast-forward mode, Kokkai dumped Wakanosato off the dohyo with a nice sukui-nage throw. Kokkai moves to 2-2 while Wakanosato was seen afterwards inquiring whether or not Hakuba and Aran had an extra ticket to the picture shows.

It's too early at this point to really run down the leaderboard, but trust me, Baruto's gotta chance if he doesn't blow it against the scrubs.  Kenji delights you tomorrow.

Day 3 Comments (Dr. Mario Kadastik reporting)
So after the shocker yesterday what do we do now? There's no winning streak to talk of. The Oz+Yok stand at 50% wins after two days with only undefeated guy being Baruto and what a win that was yesterday (a desperation move, but what a move). There's of course Kakuryu in sanyaku who's lossless, but that won't last. So with Hak playing ketchup erm catchup can Baruto pull it together? I don't think so, he currently doesn't have the motivation though the chance for Yusho might boost that right now as will his visit back home do just after Kyushu. But we can pretend, can't we that there really is now a Yusho race? Maybe Hakuho is a bit shaken by the loss and will drop one or two more (he did it the last time this happened you know finishing 12-3). If this happens, then we might have a shot at a race indeed.

So let's start with the dregs. Toyozakura met the Korean Kasugao and after being confused by a similarly colored mawashi made an attempt, but the Korean had an excellent belt grip that he used well to force Kura back and out. Good win by Kasugao.

I actually think Ross almost said Okidoki on his day 1 commentaries when talking about Okinoumi there, but barely caught himself, nice one Ross (have a beer from me). Today Okidoki met Koryu and got a nice shoulderblast from him at the get-go. However throughout the bout it was Okinoumi who maintained a good grip and finally executed an overarm throw sending them both to the clay. Koryu struggles even this low meaning he's got no business being in this division.

So the first "interesting" matchup of the day is Goeido matched up against big shot Shotenro. Both have been shaky lately with Goeido actually struggling in Juryo where he shouldn't have. And the day 1 loss was ugly too. However the "interesting" turned to craptastic as Goeido overextended himself in the tachi-ai making himself the perfect pulldown fodder for Shotenro. Shot didn't hesitate and down Goeido went.

The next gambling returnee Miyabiyama took on Sokokurai today. Somehow Sokokurai got moro-zashi and pushed fatty out. How this happened I can't tell for I was doing something much much more important, taking a dump. But good for the youngster.

Tochinonada had a slight sidestep hoping Tokitenku fell off his balance, but Tenku followed through with some vicious nodowa. The two struggled a moment in the center where Tenku got a decent belt grip and wrestled Nada back and out, but as Nada was going out he twisted and pushed sending Tokitenku to the clay. The gyoji called this one for nada, but as the MIB gathered to the dohyo to look smart, we saw a replay showing clearly that Nada's toes dug into the sand way before Tenku crashed down. And it was Tokitenku himself who made it happen as Tochinonada was pulling the leg up only to have it grabbed by Tenku for grip pulling it to sand. Even the MIB were convinced and reversed the call. Not a good bout, but interesting ending.

My favorite tanned pet Moe was given old mister Bush today to play with. Moe went in for moro-zashi and almost got it, but Bush managed to block his left arm. After a short struggle with just a left shallow grip, Moe was overcome by Bush breaking the grips. It looked from there that Bush had the advantage keeping Moe away from belt and having a decent hidari himself, but Moe slid to the side going for a pushdown, which did get Bush moving so he capitalized on it forcing him back and throwing him to the clay. In the throw process he however got his left elbow turned backwards in a way that looked painful, and he looked to be in pain while taking the win and holding the power water. We'll see how it affects his performance throughout the fortnight.

The Clown and Tosayutaka both came with the intent to go away with a kensho envelope. Takamisakari didn't bother to run anywhere just standing up and absorbing Tosayutaka. During the absorption he also twisted him to the side getting to the semi-manlove position. From this position he moved Yutaka to the straw and sent him sitting on his ass. Yutaka tried a kubi-nage, but not being Baruto he couldn't recover from the manlove position.

Toyonoshima shined in Aki going 14-1 in Juryo, now having returned to the top division, he has won his first two, but today was the real test as he was matched up with Kyokutenho with a history of 6-3 for Tenho. Toyonoshima immediately got moro-zashi, but couldn't capitalize as Tenho is just too big. Toyo tried legtrips etc, but just standing on one leg inside double armblock, he didn't have the balance to fight against Tenho turning around and out. A good tachi-ai from Toyo, but there are two guys who can still win against Toyonoshima with moro-zashi, one's Kyokutenho and other is Baruto. Good win by Tenho even though he lost the tachi-ai.

Lady Gaga ran past Shimotori as the latter had sidestepped. Shimotori immediately capitalized and with a quick belt grip and worked Gagamaru around himself to the tawara and then with a quick throw down. As usual, get the Hutt moving sideways and you have him. The sidestep wasn't as big as to be called a henka either so good win from Shimotori.

Tamawashi just slaughtered Kotokasuga from the get-go with heavy tsuppari. Nice and solid win there for the birthday boy who gets his pic in the papers.

Kokkai and Kimurayama both just stood up. Then being embarrassed by the laziness, Kokkai quickly gave Kimurayama a slap to wake him up but shouldn't have as Kimu got so enraged that he wrestled Kokkai around, back and out. Anyway at least this way it looks like there was something interesting happening…

Yoshikaze had his morning double espresso and ran to the dohyo and discovered that pressure is what he needs to measure today for he found the Barometer there. Yeah, not the best opener, I know. Espresso definitely deserved his name today as he charged like a mad man getting nicely in and quickly going for a merry-go-around strategy, which worked perfectly sending Wakanosato to the clay. True, Yoshikaze joined him there as he got too dizzy from the spinning, but he was already the winner at the time.

Henkuba has been doing just great from my perspective. He's not won a single bout and that can just be good. Today he got Tokusegawa as an opponent who has yet to lose one this basho. Even the great history for Hakuba didn't help him nor the circling around Tokusegawa for he was easily forced back and out from migi-yotsu position. At least he didn't henka…

Homasho having just gotten a surprise win against Tochiohzan got Takekaze today. He almost lost it at the start when Takekaze nicely got him to the side and used his arm to send him out, but Homey's got balance so the two moved back to the center and even though Takekaze mounted a few more attacks, he couldn't budge him enough. In the end it was Takekaze who got a nice inside grip on the side and just ran Takekaze out.

It was interesting to see whether the loss yesterday has Aran still dizzy. Namely, if you looked carefully you saw that the losing point was Aran's mage, then his head, and then he got the full Baruto on top of it. Now consider Baruto falling on top of your head. Right. So Kak just ran in for moro-zashi and did get both arms in, but no belt. After a moment of consideration, Aran went maki-kae and got a nice right arm inside. From there the two settled in migi-yotsu, and it was a strength battle with Aran trying to lift Kakuryu up, but not getting far enough. In the end Kakuryu won the strength battle and finished Aran slowly. But it was a great battle. Props for the honest battle from both guys.

Tochiohzan was dominating the bout against Homasho, but lost it at the straw for a moment where his ring sense was off by a few cm. Today he corrected that by getting a quick double inside forcing Kitataiki back and out. No question about this one.

And now to my favorite guy, Baruto. Had an interview with him on Saturday discussing about things Estonian fans had written as questions as well as his current motivation and plans. He said that he's been lacking motivation since his Ozeki promotion. For the promotion, he set it as a goal and worked like crazy to achieve it. However setting the next one for Yokozuna has not yet settled in for him as well as his tiredness of all the scandals and the fact he hasn't been allowed home for 1.5 years. That's a long time. So this basho I doubt he'll destroy his opposition, but who knows, now that he has 1 win over Hakuho, he might find the motivation. After Kyushu he'll be back to Estonia so he's probably gonna be well motivated in January.

Aminishiki is an uncomfortable opponent for him, so today he made a careful tachi-ai (essentially standing up) but he did get a right inside immediately, which allowed him to work himself into a good grip. Once he had the migi-yotsu grip, it was all over for Aminishiki and Bart finished it in style lifting Aminishiki half a meter off the ground and calmly walking out. He didn't even break a sweat doing that. Nice baruto-dashi there, and I hope he gets his motivation up and continues (will message him after the day ends to encourage as well). Aminishiki just soldiers on.

The other big European, Kotooshu, usually folds just after losing to Aminishiki, and Asasekiryu isn't a simple opponent, but even though he struggled, he didn't have a big problem today and just was careful working himself into a decent grip and then slowly, but steadily worked Asasekiryu back and out. Let's see if he recovers from that Aminishiki loss enough with this win. Hakuho losing on the same day might have helped too.

The hometown bear who refuses to give up got a tough nut to crack today in Tochinoshin. I doubt Shin's in the OBSC (Ozeki Back Scratch Club for the uninitiated) and he's gotten already an Ozeki scalp yesterday so probably wants to keep on going. Tochinoshin tried something, but either he didn't fully commit or my estimation on club membership is wrong, but I am surprised by the win by Kaio. Oh well. There's to Kaio's last Kyushu in 2011.

Harumafuji should really go kyujo. He tried a charge against Kisenosato, but it got to a tsuppari fest and with just one arm there was no bang in Harry's thrusts, so after 5seconds of torture, Kisenosato ended it with a few thorough pushes sending Harry stumbling back and out. My guess is that most people gambled and hoped for Harry, but if you did you are just ignorant of the current horrible state of Harumafuji. He is seriously injured, and he's only aggravating it with competing. He'll never get his kachi-koshi this way, and he might not get next basho if he injures the shoulder further. Go and heal yourself man, you're looking like a Chiyotaikai here…

So how did yesterday's loss affect Hakuho? Did it shake him or did it get him angry? Well Kotoshogiku isn't really the guy to test that. The two didn't lock up straight up, but it took a bit of positioning from Hakuho to have his grip for a throw, and throw he did. The next winning streak just started? We'll see. There's still this 90 wins in 90 days of a year that he can try for next year.

So after three days we have a few guys at three wins, the only interesting ones though are Kakuryu and Baruto. The catchup group's a bit of a stretch at this point, but all the contenders are nicely there, so it might be at least sumo suspense until days 11-12 unless the big boys start to lose. I seriously hope Asasekiryu gets a freebie tomorrow because Harumafuji finally came to his senses, but no big hopes there.

Day 2 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
Disaster. That's what I'd call it. Heading into the basho, sumo had exactly two storylines. The obvious one was Hakuho's quest for Futabayama's 69, which accounted for about 85% of the pre-basho coverage. The remaining 15% went to Sekiwake Tochiohzan who was sort of in Ozeki-run mode if that's possible after just one basho. To have both of those storylines crash and burn on day 2 of the Kyushu basho is a disaster in my opinion. And don't get me wrong...Kisenosato's sumo today was epic, and I loved all 19 seconds of the bout, but you can't have the basho's climax occur on day 2 and expect people to still care about sumo. Sure, I'll still watch the remaining 13 days, and you'll watch as well, but the people who really matter are the Japanese public. What do they have to pique their interest in sumo now?

The absolute best part of the Japanese broadcast each basho occurs on day 1 right before the bouts actually begin. During about five minutes of inaction, the cameras focus on two people: Kitanofuji doing color commentary and Mainoumi in the muko-jomen seat. The two candidly go back and forth talking about the biggest storylines in sumo. Of course the focus yesterday was Hakuho's pursuit of the record, and the two were speaking as if on sacred ground when talking about it. Mainoumi specifically said that there was just a different feel to the basho because of it. Was. To me, the only thing that sumo had going for it right now was Hakuho's chasing down that record, so to see it go up in flames just 6 bouts short is devastating. There is one possible scenario that could salvage the basho in the end, but more on that later since it doesn't involve a Japanese rikishi.

Before we actually get to the action, I must say that I was a bit amused by a thread I saw on our forum where someone created a new topic simply entitled, "It's over!" Some were upset and claimed that the title SPOILER should have been used instead so those who hadn't seen the matches yet wouldn't be tipped off. My question is what exactly were the other possibilities that would have come to mind if you had seen the title SPOILER this basho after day 2?

I can't think of any others beyond these:

- Doreen Simmons signs autograph as "Doreen Mihara" after Day 1 broadcast
- Hakuba charges straight forward at the tachi-ai
- Shotenro - Shironoryu bout sets kensho banner record
- Kotooshu pummels Aminishiki

And the funny thing is as soon as I logged online this morning I chased down Clancy about 12:30 AM his time (6 1/2 hours after the bouts) and immediately started asking his opinion of the bout. After about two awkward minutes of dialog, Clancy finally admitted to me, "Uh, I haven't seen the bouts yet and didn't know the results. I was waiting for the digest program later on tonight." Oops.

About 30 minutes after that, though, Martin, who is biddy as a bee these days, sends me an instant message out of the blue that said, "It finally happened, ne" (the "ne" at the end of that sentence refers to a common Japanese ending that means roughly INNIT, which goes to show that Martin is not just biddy, but he's also becoming fisticated). Martin of course assumed I had seen the biggest bout of the year, so he started his chat off with that sentence. The point is...if you don't want to know the results of the sumos before you've seen them, the last place you should be logging into is a sumo website.

But...like the basho's remaining 13 days, I digress.

Due to a heavy snowstorm and a satellite dish on top of my house shaped like..well, a dish...that conveniently hoarded a pile of wet snow, I was only able to watch the last 45 minutes of the broadcast. Working our way in ascending order, M4 Hakuba moved to his left at the tachi-ai, but M5 Yoshikaze was onto the move like a pee stain to a mattress and secured the lower stance in the hidari-yotsu contest. With Hakuba raised upright, Yoshikaze methodically worked him over to the edge before dumping him down to the clay across the tawara. Yoshikaze is 2-0 if you need him while Hakuba falls to 0-2.

M3 Kitataiki led with the head against M4 Takekaze, and even though Takekaze bumped him back a bit, Taiki kept his footing and stayed low eventually working the contest into hidari-yotsu, a position from which he could now attack. As he drove Takekaze back, Takekaze went for a kote-nage throw with the right arm but just slipped right out of it felling himself to the dirt largely on his own. Take nothing away from Kitataiki (2-0), however, as his forward-moving sumo dictated this bout. Takekaze is 1-1.

Sekiwake Tochiohzan has officially been branded as Japan's new hope, but after his performance against M3 Homasho today, I don't know whether or not to laugh or cry. Homasho completely befuddled the Sekiwake with a hard, low tachi-ai that kept Toe Cheese away from the belt. If Homasho does have an advantage over Tochiohzan, it's his speed, and he used it perfectly to stick and jab throwing enough tsuppari into Tochiohzan to keep him at bay and moving side to side just enough to disallow Tochiohzan to settle into yotsu-zumo. After about eight seconds into the dance, Homasho placed a gentle right hand into Tochiohzan's left side and just pushed him back and out of the ring in all his girth. Both rikishi are even steven at 1-1, but Tochiohzan totally underestimated his opponent today. Good thing that wouldn't happen later on (urp).

Kakuryu restored order to the rank by striking low against M2 Asasekiryu neutralizing Sexy's preferred charge and then forcing the bout into migi-yotsu. With both rikishi of similar builds, the gappuri yotsu contest was imminent, but once both rikishi had aligned chests, Kakuryu dominated his gal escorting her back and out with gentlemanly aplomb. Kakuryu moves to 2-0 with the win, and let's compare him with Tochiohzan today. Both are ranked Sekiwake, and both have equal opponents (as in Homasho and Asasekiryu are equally bad), so for Tochiohzan not to take care of bidness today was inexcusable. Asasekiryu is 0-2 for his trouble.

In the Ozeki ranks, Kotooshu spun his wheels at the tachi-ai with his left leg slipping just enough that by the time he regained his footing, his feet were aligned, and opponent M2 Aminishiki was moving forward full bore. Kotooshu had no chance in this one as his nemesis Aminishiki drove the Ozeki back and out faster'n you could cough "choke job." Sure, Kotooshu's feet slipped (ashi ga nagareru) at the tachi-ai, but he's got to be better prepared, especially against a guy like Shneaky who finds himself 2-0. The Bulgarian is 1-1.

Ozeki Kaio was gifted his first win by Fukuoka kohai, M1 Kotoshogiku. This one was so fake even Angelina Jolie's face was embarrassed. Kotoshogiku moved forward (I'll refrain from using "charged") at the tachi-ai as Kaio just slipped to his right and pushed down at the Giku's left armpit from the side. Kotoshogiku did a complete cartwheel/summersault right off of the dohyo, which could have in no way been instigated by Kaio's shove. If you've ever been to morning keiko, you know at the end of the session the rikishi actually practice taking dives rolling just so to avoid injury. This was one of those rolls with added exaggeration. It was just ridiculous, and if I was Japanese, I'd be embarrassed that this guy was representing the Ozeki rank for my country. Kaio has been one of my favorite rikishi since the mid 90's, and I still ache a bit when I think how close he came to Yokozuna, but nonsense bouts like this are a disgrace to sumo. Both rikishi are 1-1...and I feel a lot better now.

Unlike Ozeki Harumafuji whose ailing shoulder is obviously affecting his performance. After a false start where Harumafuji was caught moving to his left, there was nowhere to hide for real as Komusubi Tochinoshin got his right arm firmly on the inside of the Ozeki's belt. Harumafuji countered with a left outer grip and ducked this way and that trying to create some sort of opening, but Tochinoshin never relinquished the belt. Unable to use his entire body--a necessity for a small guy like HowDo--Tochinoshin patiently waited with that inside grip testing the throw waters and surviving counter uwate-nage throws from Harumafuji until about a minute in when Tochinoshin's strength won out enabling him to power the Ozeki to the clay with a right scoop throw. Harumafuji also cart wheeled across the dohyo, but this really was to avoid injury. It makes no sense to eat a Tochinoshin belt throw when you're goose is cooked. Tochinoshin coolly picks up that first win while Harumafuji falls to 0-2.

Ozeki Baruto exhibited one of his worst tachi-ai ever yesterday against Kisenosato, but he repented nicely today against Komusubi Aran using the moro-te tachi-ai and lengthy tsuppari to keep Aran completely away from the belt. Against a guy like Aran, I'd think Baruto would want the fight to go the belt, but regardless, the two whiteys traded shoves around and around the ring for a full 20 seconds or so before Aran used a quick pull attempt from the grapplin' position and a tottari tug of Baruto's right arm to completely turn the Estonian around 180 degrees. From there, the Russian hurried into the manlove position (and who wouldn't?) grabbing Baruto around the waist from behind with the right while securing his left arm in sort of an inside grip from behind. How Aran didn't think of easily tripping the Ozeki to his death from behind for the easy win I'll never know, but during his indecision, Baruto suddenly sprang a harima-nage throw attempt where he used a backhanded grip with the left arm on the back of Aran's belt to throw him behind while using his body to force his opponent to the clay not unlike a pile driver in a sport that's absolutely 100% real, professional wrestling. Both rikishi smacked the clay at the same time, but Aran's mage of all things clearly struck the dirt first giving the victory to Baruto while Aran fell to 0-2.

This was an awesome finish and perhaps the best move I've ever seen Baruto pull off, but lest we gush too quickly, we need to realize that the Ozeki should have never been in this position in the first place. In his two wins, it's been impossible to map out Baruto's sumo, which has been completely ad-hoc. Still, he's 2-0 now, and if he can keep up the momentum, it's my opinion that Hakuho would consider looking the other way if Baruto can do the rest on his own. Reaching the Ozeki rank guarantees one that he'll get at least one career yusho, and this could be setting up perfectly for Bart. The Ozeki must polish his sumo from here on out, but the stars have aligned just a bit.

Just a bit because M1 Kisenosato managed the unthinkable by staying with Yokozuna Hakuho stride for stride after a quick hari-zashi tachi-ai that saw Hakuho set up the right inside position that was so good he nearly parlayed it into moro-zashi, but as Kisenosato back-pedaled, he used a stiff right paw pushing against Hakuho's face that disrupted the Yokozuna's charge and created complete separation with the Kid now moving to his right and Hakuho forced to chase. As he did, Kisenosato landed a fierce right hari-te that didn't necessarily drive Hakuho back, but it did cause him to lose his cool, which is exactly what you need to do to beat a dai-Yokozuna. Hakuho countered with a right roundhouse to Kisenosato's face as well, but in the process forfeited sound balance allowing the M1 to drive the Yokozuna back with tsuppari to the neck and assume the hidari-yotsu position where Kisenosato enjoyed the lower stance with his left shoulder just under the Yokozuna's jaw. That was key because even though Hakuho had a right outer grip, he couldn't force Kisenosato back nor could he set up a sufficient trip. Kisenosato musta known he had his man at this point because he whipped the Yokozuna around with a right grip of his own, used his right leg brilliantly on the outside of Hakuho's left trapping the Yokozuna in place, and then stood him completely upright at the edge before sending Hakuho off of the dohyo and rolling over a handful of spectators in the first few rows.

Damnation! I dare say we have not seen a bout of sumo like this since that epic Asashoryu - Hakuho bout to finish off the Hatsu 2009 basho. Everything about Kisenosato's performance today was perfect from his keeping his composure after losing the tachi-ai to landing a face slap and causing the Yokozuna to lose his cool. There are some unwritten rules in sumo, and one of them is that you don't deliver a hari-te to a Yokozuna, but for some inexplicable reason, Kisenosato is one rikishi who can. The Kid has been ballsy and fearless since he entered sumo, and I loved the hari-te today. The Kid was indeed an army with banners and deserves two kin-boshi for his efforts. It's just unfortunate that Kisenosato is unable to focus as he did today for an entire basho. As the dust settled, both rikishi finished the day at 1-1, and thank the sumo gods there were plenty of empty seats around the dohyo today or someone could have really gotten hurt. As for Hakuho, sitting up in the second row after having been pasted with a silly grin on his face after this loss was not the reaction I wanted to see from him. I guess I can't blame him for not exactly being fired up after the last four basho, but a Yokozuna sitting in the wake of an M1 does not look good.

It may take a day or two for us to come down from the excitement of that single bout today, but come day 5 or so this basho will likely start to drag. Hakuho's record... gone. Tochiohzan's momentum...gone. Kotooshu's fast start...gone. Baruto holds the key, so let's see if he can overcome a shaky 2-0 start.

Mario's one fella who hopes he does tomorrow.

Day 1 Comments (Clancy Kelly reporting)
Greetings and welcome to Day 3 of the Kyushu Ba...wait, its Shonichi, Day 1. Must have been focusing on the audience at the Fuk u Oka? International Center. Really, must I write that attendance would be higher at Adolph Hitlers bar mitzvah? Must I write that the NSK ought to take this basho away from that wretched town and give Osaka two? Must I write that the place would be filled to capacity if only three-quarters of the women Arbo has slept with in Japan showed up (especially if they were giving mother/daughter discounts?) When Hakuho did his lil leg stomping routine at the start I heard three guys say "Yoisho!" and two cough up phlegm (and no, I did NOT need the spellchecker for that last word--snap!)

If there is one day where I watch the entire two hours of Makuuchi wrestling its Day 1, mainly because Ross Mihara and Doreen Simmons are both palatable hosts. Sure, they slip up here and there, like talking endlessly about Tokusegawa without ever once mentioning that the guy the NHK camera was on during the entire pre-bout was his foe Kotokasuga (newbies could easily get confused), but for the most part they have a certain... je ne sai quoi that makes me want to quote French.

Gotta give credit where its due. The NSK could have led off the first two days by feeding Hakuho Aran and Geeku, men whose chances of toppling the Yokozuna lie somewhere between "Is that wide enough?" and "Ill call 119!" but instead gave us Tochinoshin and Kisenosato, guys whose chances lie more in the range of "Thatll be the day" and "Well Ill be a monkeys uncle."

Im pissed that I had to jettison all my Hokutoriki jokes cause the boy dropped out, but maybe I can use them on Hakuba. First match provided us with some hot sauce for our looking balls as Okinoumi turned the tables right at the edge on Wakakoyu, spinning the Juryo man around and launching both men into the air. Little femme (ugh, now the French wont stop) Wakakowai put his hand down to brace his fall, and by that lost. Why do I get the feeling a Mongolian would have eaten clay to win?

Speaking of mainland Asian types, Shotenro, a darling of ours in 2009 but not so much these days, slipped around Kasugao and escorted the Kimchi Kommando out nice and spicy like. The Korean used to be a threat, but theres just a little too much "pus" in his Pusan these days.

They cued up Bob Seger for the next match, and the place got to jumpin:

♪ I was born lonely
Up in Ibaraki-ken
Learned to put a diaper on
And wrestle men
And I was just fifteen
When I had to leave home
Joined Musashigawa beya
Theyre hard as stone
Aint good looking
But you know I aint shy
Aint afraid to rub my titties
Against a guy
So if youve got a dohyo
And a little sacred salt
I need to get sweaty now
Its not my fault

Cause I am just a ramblin
Ramblin man
And I got to gamble,
Gamblin man.
Yeah, I got to ramble,
Ramblin man.
I was born a ramblin gamblin man ♪

Yep, Miyabiyama the Lord of Lard rolled back into the top division after his banishment to the hinterlands, and the lad wasted no time in slapping down the ass of one Koryu. Gets out my way, child, Im oozin back to the sanyaku, mofo! Yo.

Another guy who now knows that what happens in Vegas mosdef does NOT stay in Vegas was up next as Goeido took on the Gentle Giant his bad self, Tochinonada. Goeido controlled this bout the entire time...until he made the final push and fell to his chest as GG balanced on the bales. The youngin looked overeager to prove himself. Always has, for that matter.

An ice hockey game nearly broke out as Sokokurai and Bushuyama got to hand checking each other. Finally when Cry lunged in for the belt, the Dolly Yama gave him such a "thwack" that NHK flashed the word on the screen, like in the old Batman tv series. Bufud by Bushu. It doesnt get any sweeter than that.

Typical Takami today as he totally took Tokitenkus tachi-ai tall and tumescently, then timed a talented tug to take the turkey to town. Nice pull down win for Short Bus.

After getting manned back to the edge, Mokonami pulled the same sweet move as Okinoumi did in the first bout, but sadly it was determined that the Yakitori Sekitoris heel brushed a wavelength traveling near the space where the idea of a hypothesis of the possibility of matter contacting matter occurred to someone sitting on a couch in Antwerp, and the aggressor Tosayutaka emerged victorious. Would have preferred a re-douche on this one.

Toyonoshima was ready to go all in vs. Gagamaru, but in the 17.3 seconds it took GlacialMaru to actually complete his tachi-ai, he reconsidered and started backing away, thinking hed live to fight another day. He managed to turn the big fella around, but somehow Lord Gaga spun and got hold of him. High Roller went for a leg trip and while the Tanker bit on that feint, Tugboat got parallel and shoved him out. I wanna say it was exciting.

Shimotori kind of blew me away by rising from the dead vs. Kyokutenho, who seemed to have his foe going back and out no problemo, but instead found himself on the receiving end of a swift howdayadoo, and unceremoniously shoved out. Turnabout is fair play, I guess.

Nothing to see with Tamawashi erasing Kimurayama from the Day 1 memory cache before he even got downloaded.

Mike was cleaning out an old email folder of ours and he found several addressed to me. Much to my chagrin, they were from 2008. Oops. I probably lost those two readers, but if its any consolation, yes Mike looks EXACTLY like Rick Astley, and no, Takamisakari does NOT have Downs Syndrome.

Turns out Ross and Doreen were right to talk up Tokusegawa as he easily got in on Kotokasugas belt and drove the smaller man out.

With both men slapping like fifth grade girls, it was only a matter of time before one got spanked to the dirt, and it was Kokkai taking the loss as YoshiCafe double latted the E6. Starbuck wins 10 this time out and hes going to be Komusubi. Starbuck wins 10 this time out and Ill post a picture of myself naked on Day 15 (shit, Ill do that for free!)

It was Croc-N-Tak time next, and after Takekaze hemmed and hawed at tachi-ai I knew he was going to jump to the side. And he did. Using his ill-gotten goods to perfection, he drove into the off balance Wakanosato (who, to be frank, had a fair chance to right the ship) and backed him out. As he went to bow, Wakanosato had this resigned but sad look on his mug, as if to say, Sure, if thats how you want to play it, you lil punk ass beeotch! Like his stablemate Yoshikaze, Takekaze was also 12-3 in Sept., and like Café he will not be duplicating that feat, even with trickery like this.

One meaning for the word "haku" in Japanese is "to vomit," and how I wish that were the kanji used for Hakuba. His henka tachi-ai didnt do him any good today, thank T&M, as Kitataiki read that move like a Penthouse Forum, slamming out the dirty bird with gusto. Yarrgh, methinks Hakuba and his scorbutic sumo are in for a lengthy fortnight.

Kakuryu greeted Homasho with some strong neck thrusting, then backed away for a second only to grab at the belt. Deciding this wasnt what he wanted he let go and pounded the E3 with some hellacious tsuppari. The Shikoroyama man, known for weathering the storm, couldnt handle this squall and was beaten like a red headed stepchild.

Anti-climactic bout between Asasekiryu and Tochiohzan, as the Sekiwake declined a bite of both Sexys henka and proceeding slapdown attempt, slamming the E2 in the chest and twisting him to the clay. Toe Cheese is all the rage these days, so heres to him taking Kaios spot sooner rather than later.

Speaking of which, Ross and Doreen were chuckling about silly we have all been by writing Kaios obituary every year for the past few years in Fukuoka, but the fact is we based those observations on the premise that sumo was not fixed, when it has become painfully clear to anyone without their head ensconced firmly up their ass (yes, I know the rule against "their" and I piss on it) that it IS, at least to the extent that the popular JPese Ozeki were gifted years more at the rank than they would have been able to manage on their own.

But perhaps this is truly the final Fukuoka basho for the Old Grey Mere, who got pwned by Aminishiki today (disappointing thirteen people in the crowd, or, in other words, THE crowd) and should by most everyone else this basho and into 2011, virtually ensuring he doesnt make it one more cycle. Yes, hes lovable. Yes, he looks like David Letterman. Yes, hes got Doreens cell number on his speed dial. But charm or no charm, NO WAY he makes it back to Kyushu, so pay your respects, Fukuokaites.

The sun rises. Water runs. Wind blows. And so does Harumafuji when it comes to wrestling Kotoshogiku. Another annihilation today at the hands of Geeku, this one in under two seconds. At least we know these bouts arent fixed, cause HowDo would have had to have killed Geekus Aunt Melba to be repaying it this long. The fact is that the Ozeki always gives the Sadogatake man a straight up fight, instead of shifting and sliding and doing the things that he could mosdef do to win.

At this point they started showing close-ups of Hakuho and Tochinoshin seated by the dohyo waiting their turn. Hakuho looked like he had just been delivered from Easter Island by crane helicopter, while Tochinoshin appeared to have a chipmunk running around marking territory in his mouth.

So Baruto did his best imitation of Mainoumi, trying to jump over Kisenosato and grab the back of his belt. I think The Kid was so amazed to see the earth rise up at him like that he lost focus, and once the Ozeki closed ranks The Kids right arm got trapped sticking straight up in the air like he was asking if he could go the toilet. Baruto obliged by taking the piss out of him with an outside right belt that led to a pedestrian force out win. Wow, hijinks tachi-ai in the second to last bout of Day 1. This basho ought to be a winner, urp.

Aran walked right into Kotooshu, who got the two handed belt grip, where and how deep didnt matter at this point, cause Aran was more Moron for taking this tack, instead of hitting and backing up and evading to get the overly tall Bulgar off balance. I wish I could say that we should watch Kotooshu, and that maybe he can give Hakuho a run for his money this time out. I also wish I could talk to seagulls.

I recall that when Hakuho lost three bouts in January after losing a record setting four all last year, commentators were making jokes about how hed have to win the rest of his matches for the year to beat last year, hahaha, hohoho. Course then Asashoryu was forced out of sumo for beating in a pimp, and Mitsuki was hung out in the wind for doing what hundreds of others have done in sumo for ages, and a few Yokozuna upset candidates were demoted to Juryo, and Harumafuji became a headcase, and Baruto and Kotooshu stayed European, and lastly, but mosdef not leastly, Hakuho decided that he and he alone deserved to win any sumo bout he was in.

Now he stands at the precipice, and each day The Streak sits there square in the middle of the ring, gaudy, flashy, spritzed up like a girl at the premiere of Back To The Future, and demanding to be taken seriously. Seriously? Uh, okay.

So Tochinoshin started with a slight henka, but the Yokozuna closed in, grabbed him and tried to throw him, but couldnt. Fair enough. Then they locked up and while No Shine started working out what to do, he got done, Hakuho walking him back and, when finding the inevitable resistance, twisting him effortlessly to the floor. Number 63 for the man of the hour, day, week, month, year and possible next decade. Barring injury, this man will win close to 40 career yusho, is there any doubt?

Mike will be driving by tomorrow with his boomin system. Mosdef.