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Day 14 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
It's good to be back in the saddle after an entire week off. I was able to watch all of the bouts via the internet while I was gone, but I didn't have access to the NHK broadcast or any NHK news programs, and so I wasn't able to see what NHK and the Sumo Association were pushing although I can pretty much guess. When I left after Day 7, my feeling was they may as well start posting the leaderboard early because it was the best they had going for them, and sure enough, they've maintained a healthy leaderboard the entire week with all of the rikishi taking losses at opportune times just to keep things interesting.

Instead of going bout by bout today, I'll just focus on the main players this basho starting off with M1 Nishikigi. Through Day 11 he looked like the favorite to yusho, especially with two rookies paired against him on Days 12 and 13.

On Day 12 against M14 Shonannoumi, the two hooked up in hidari-yotsu from the tachi-ai where it was evident that NG was not trying to attack. Problem was that Shonannoumi wasn't comfortable doing anything either, and so Nishikigi went for a maki-kae with the right, and instead of easily getting the right arm inside--which would have given him moro-zashi, he just held that hand in tight doing nothing with it until the rookie went for a feeble kote-nage with his own right, and Nishikigi just plopped over.

Shonannoumi could not defend that maki-kae, and NG could have easily taken it, but he didn't and just stood there waiting for the bad throw. That would have sent Nishikigi to 11-1 and put him in a commanding lead, but someone somewhere gave him the order to throw the bout, and the yaocho was obvious.

On Day 13 against M17 Hakuohho, Nishikigi refused to go chest to chest from the tachi-ai and was likely waiting on a charge from the rookie, but such a charge never came, and so NG took the bout to hidari-yotsu where Nishikigi had the rookie so upright it was laughable, but he notably never took the easy right outer grip. Instead, he gave Hakuohho the right outer and just stood there. Problem was, Hakuohho's right outer grip was far away, and the rookie's chin was on top of Nishikigi's left shoulder, and the dude could barely maintain his position. It would have taken NG very little to shake his hips and cut off that outer grip, but he didn't even try.

The problem with the bout was that Hakuohho was in no position to attack, and so the two stood there for 20 or seconds or so until Nishikigi (not the rookie) put his right leg forward and to the side just holding it there until Hakuohho went for a quick uchi-gake swipe. Nishikigi toppled over backwards of course, but it was Nishikigi who set the move up in the first place!! I think that's the first time I've ever seen a dude position his leg wide outside inviting the uchi-gake. I mean, it's the guy executing the move that's supposed to surprise his opponent, but it was Nishikigi who set it all up.

Regardless of that, it was clear that the orders were in that Nishikigi needed to lose to Hakuohho as well, and just like that, Nishikigi dropped out of first place on the leaderboard in two days with two yaocho. On Day 14, Nishikigi lost legitimately to Ryuden (the best Japanese rikishi on the banzuke) to fall to an incredible 10-4 record after that nice start, and Nishikigi is out of the yusho race just like that.

Let's next move to M9 Hokutofuji, who found himself in sole possession of first place coming into Day 14. The reason Nishikigi got all the run the first 10 days and not Hokutofuji is because Nishikigi had that 14 bout winning streak going spanning two basho; he had a mantle of scalps early on in the tournament that included Kirishima, Terunofuji, and the three Ozeki candidates. Yeah, Day 1 was a win by default and Days 2 and 3 were arranged bouts, but it was still something to market. NHK also loved to show Nishikigi in the back halls with his coke bottle glasses. While the dude isn't geeky enough to even approach Takamisakari's world, there was still something about him that was easy to hype...not to mention he's one of the top 3 Japanese guys on the banzuke (I think Kagayaki's the third along with Ryuden as previously mentioned).

Back to Hokutofuji, he never did have that great resume to market, and he was buying a ton of his bouts as part of that 9-1 start, and then on Day 11 he was paired against Suckiwake Wakamotoharu. Hokutofuji dominated the tachi-ai and had WMH pushed back near the straw in a flash, but he didn't even try to finish his opponent off and waited for the action to flow back to the center of the ring. After hooking up in hidari-yotsu, it was Hokutofuji who had the right outer grip, but he wasn't attacking with it and ultimately let Wakamotoharu force him back and across without resistance.

Hokutofuji comes from the Hakkaku-beya, and the stable master is none other than the sport's commissioner. It's just not the Japanese way to have Hokutofuji illegitimately make that nice start from the M9 rank by buying cheap bouts and then knocking a Japanese Ozeki candidate out of the race. You just have to understand the politics that goes on behind the scenes, and Hakkaku-oyakata was not going to steal the spotlight at the expense of other storylines that sumo needs to build itself up for the future.

And that really became evident on Day 14 when Hokutofuji was paired against M17 Hakuohho. The two hooked up in hidari-yotsu from the tachi-ai, and I knew Hokutofuji wasn't going to try and win from the start because he didn't come with his usual jab with the left and shade to the right charge. Instead, he left himself vulnerable to the rookie, but Hakuohho is not an attacker, and so the two dug in for about 20 seconds. Finally, Hokutofuji lifted Hakuohho upright and had him on his tip toes in the perfect position to grab a right outer grip, but Hokutofuji relented and instead faked a maki-kae with the same right hand. Hakuohho didn't make him pay for the maki-kae, and so the two went back to the center of the ring in the same stalemate.

After another 10 seconds, Hokutofuji had his foe set up again to where he could grab the easy right outer grip, but he refrained once again, and you could see over and over that Hokutofuji wasn't trying to win the bout. On the other side, Hakuohho had no clue how he was going to attack and win, so essentially, Hokutofuji was the one driving the bus.

As the action flowed to the edge, Hokutofuji had his foe dead to rights with the left inside position, but instead of going for the force-out, Hokutofuji just dipped his right shoulder and waited for the cheap tsuki to come from Hakuohho, and when it came, Hokutofuji flopped out of the dohyo giving Hakuohho the fake win. I mean, that was a counter move by Hakuohho, but the problem was there was no attack coming from Hokutofuji to even counter, so it was an orchestrated fall that was the result of an arranged bout.  In sumo, there's only one way for a rikishi to find himself parallel to the dohyo, and that's if he does it all to himself.

Once again, the commissioner's rikishi is not more important than the other storylines, and so he had his dude defer today against Hakuohho, and it was obvious. Along with the Hakkaku camp deferring today, Hokutofuji's loss was also key because it reopened up the leaderboard. Coming into the day, this was the leaderboard:

11-2: Hokutofuji
10-3: Hoshoryu, Nishikigi, Hakuohho

That meant that Hokutofuji could have clinched the yusho on Day 14 with a win over Hakuohho and then losses by Nishikigi and Hoshoryu. With Nishikigi facing Ryuden, that was a loss in a straight up bout that came to fruition, and then Kirishima could have beaten Hoshoryu if he had tried. It was dangerously looking close to a boring Hokutofuji yusho on Day 14, and now with his intentional loss, the leaderboard doubled heading into senshuraku at that point of the broadcast.

While we've mentioned M17 Hakuohho, let's focus on him a bit now. I mentioned in his bout against Hokutofuji that it was Hokutofuji driving the bus. And it's been that way for the majority of Hakuohho bouts. This is the pattern: Hakuohho loses the tachi-ai; his opponent lets them square up chest to chest in the center of the ring; Hakuohho is in no position to attack, and so his opponent does the work after a brief stall; Hakuohho pulls the rabbit out of the hat near the edge for the comeback win.

I thought Hakuohho had a few decent wins early in Week 2, but the majority of his bouts follow the same pattern where his opponent drives the bus the entire way and then magically flops out of the ring at the end.

I think Hakuohho has potential. He's got a great sumo body with a very nice low center of gravity, but he's got crocodile arms, and that hurts him. It's hard for him to maintain an outer grip without over extending himself, and he always looks uncomfortable in the clinch chest to chest. He can work a few things out, but of his 11 wins this basho, at least eight of them have been purchased.

Sumo is trying to build the future, and they need to do it quickly because the Japanese Ozeki candidates aren't spring chickens. It's been clear from the start that they've wanted these three rookies to succeed, and you just look at the fake records and fake sumo to see the desired results. Let's see what this kid can do down the road, but he isn't even close to a yusho-worthy candidate.

He's paired against Hoshoryu on senshuraku, and it's evident that the rookie cannot beat Hoshoryu in a straight up fight. I also think chances are extremely slim that Hoshoryu throws the bout. They are not going to let Hakuohho yusho as a rookie from the M17 rank, at least I don't think they're gonna let that happen. It's better to have a solid guy like Hoshoryu shore up the Ozeki rank, but I guess that's why we'll be watching.

Let's next talk about M4 Asanoyama, who came back on Day 12 after a left biceps injury suffered at the hands of a Hoshoryu throw the week before. Now, in any professional sport, if you have a guy whose injured on the playing field, what do you do? You exploit the injury and target the dude whose lame.

In tennis, if your opponent calls in the trainer and has their leg taped up, you make them run side to side. In a team sport, if there's a lame duck on the field, you target him every play until he's removed from the game. So in sumo, let's say you were really trying to win and you have a guy comeback from a left biceps injury, what do you attack? You do everything in your power to make that lame guy use his injured arm.

Well, if you go and watch Asanoyama's three bouts since he came back, what don't his opponents do? They don't make him use that left arm. Tobizaru's falling lamely onto his arse in the center of the ring on Day 12 was comical, and you are a dumbass if you thought that bout was real. Shodai did not make Asanoyama use the left arm whatsoever in that soft bout, and then the Day 14 bout against Kirishima was the biggest "as-if" moment of the basho. I mean, it was a good scoop throw by Asanoyama, and you have to give him credit for that, but it was with the right arm and Kirishima didn't even make the dude test his left arm let alone any other part of his body.

This is just speculation, but I think the Sumo Association saw a significant enough hit in numbers after Asanoyama's withdrawal that they felt like they needed him back. The dude is consistently #1 on the most streamed bouts chart, and so I'm really curious how much of a hit they took when he went out. They unfortunately never post any numbers because they're so bad, but I think they really needed this dude back to boost the sport, and so that's why he's back.

For me personally, watching the Women's World Cup the year after the Men's World Cup is like watching Japanese rikishi do sumo as opposed to Mongolians doing sumo, but Japan takes any international event so seriously, especially the World Cup events. Men or women, everyone is fully on board, and so Sumo has had to compete the last couple of days with the World Cup. I think Sumo could see a significant enough hit without Asanoyama that they wanted him to come back, and what are the chances he gets kachi-koshi tomorrow against Wakamotoharu??

Speaking of Wakamotoharu and the other three Ozeki candidates, they opened the second half of the Day 14 broadcast with a review of the threesome as follows coming into the day:



For those of your scoring at home, this is how the rikishi sit in terms of Ozeki candidacy with two days to go:

Hoshoryu: 31 wins
Daieisho: 30 wins
Wakamotoharu: 30 wins

Hoshoryu was paired against Wakamotoharu today, and the latter executed one of the worst tachi-ai henka you'd care to see lamely jumping to his left. Hoshoryu actually grabbed Wakamotoharu's leg before he fully landed and could have humiliated him at that point, but he let him survive another five seconds or so before dumping him with an easy kote-nage.

When the pressure is really on and the bout is real,ou can see what these guys are made of, and Wakamotoharu isn't made of much. He falls to 9-5 in defeat, and I don't see how you can promote him based on his record and more importantly sumo content. He draws Asanoyama tomorrow, and that one will be very interesting. I think an Asanoyama win is more beneficial for sumo, so I expect that to happen. In a straight up fight, Wakamotoharu wins.

As for Hoshoryu, he moves to 32 win and a 10-3 record, and as previously mentioned, he draws Hakuohho tomorrow. It's tough for me to imagine a scenario where he lets the rookie win, but nothing surprises me.

Switching over to Daieisho, he henka'd to his left as well against Onosho winning the bout in a half second. He moves to 9-5 with the cheap win and 31 total wins over the last three basho with tomorrow pending. He draws Takanosho, and I think that's a relatively easy win for Daieisho although Takanosho has a chance against the Sekiwake in a straight up bout, especially if Daieisho shows his nerves. We'll see how it plays out, but it works better to give Daieisho 32 wins at the end of the day and let Asanoyama beat Wakamotoharu although it was unavoidable after the day for Hakkaku Commissioner to ignore the fact that both Japanese Ozeki candidates resorted to tachi-ai henka today.

With that, I don't think there are any other major storylines worth mentioning. Minor storylines include Kirishima's return and ultimate make-koshi so he can come into the September tournament side by side with Takakeisho as kadoban Ozeki. You see? It's not easy to be an Ozeki...trust me. It's actually not easy to be a fake Ozeki, that's for sure.

Finally, the other two rookies, M13 Gonoyama and M14 Shonannoumi have been steady storylines throughout the basho.

I think Gonoyama is the best of the three rookies, but I really like Shonannoumi's size. As mentioned in the case of Hakuohho, I think he's got potential as well, but even though you can find positives in all three of these guys, it doesn't mean that they're not buying bouts hand over fist. Trust me, they are, and it's been in an effort to keep interest in this basho.

If you think about the state of Sumo 10 years ago where Hakuho was winning everything, and you were happy if the fans were filling up the lower tier eight rows deep, you can see why Sumo has had to make this radical change the last decade and strategically use yaocho to keep the fans interested.

At the end of Day 14 they posted the leaderboard as follows...noting that they had not made the senshuraku pairings yet:

11-3: Hoshoryu, Hokutofuji, Hakuohho
10-4: Kotonowaka, Nishikigi, Ryuden

Hoshoryu draws Hakuohho and I think Hoshoryu goes ahead and takes the bout. Because one of these two will emerge with a 12-3 record, the yusho line is preserved there and the four-loss rikishi are eliminated.

Hokutofuji draws Nishikigi, and Nishikigi is clearly the better rikishi, so I give him the nod.

If those two predictions come true, then Hoshoryu takes the yusho at 12-3, and he is guaranteed the Ozeki rank for September.

I mean, anything can happen in sumo these days, but the Association has already milked as much as they could regardless of the outcome, so I see Hoshoryu as the heavy favorite tomorrow with. If Daieisho wins his bout against Takanosho, they likely promote him to Ozeki as well to keep things even steven, and then you load Hakuohho up with a coupla special prizes.

I will be back tomorrow for a final report.

Day 7 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
It feels as if the Sumo Association needs to start posting the leaderboard now. The initial storyline heading into the basho was the potential promotion to Ozeki of three individuals, but when the two Japanese dudes suffered some bad losses early on, it kinda took the air out of that balloon. Next up was Nishikigi and his undefeated start and 14 bout winning streak heading into the day, but that story is now gone, and so there's nowhere really to turn but the yusho race. There are plenty of rikishi who would quality for the leaderboard, so they may as well start now.

A good crowd was on hand today for the sumos and while every day this week has technically been a sell-out, there have been swaths of empty rows around the arena the entire week and then the corners of the masu-seki and the nosebleeds have been empty as well. I guess the definition of a "sell-out crowd" is becoming more and more subjective...kind of like a big debate going on here in the US as to "what is a woman?" The answer to that question is simple:  a person not allowed to set foot inside a sumo dohyo.

Anyway, let's cherry pick our way up the charts for Day 7 starting with the first bout of the day that featured M16 Endoh vs. M17 Hakuohho. The tachi-ai was good with both dudes hooking up in hidari-yotsu, and Hakuohho grabbed a right belt grip while Endoh still fished for a left frontal, but before he could really latch on, Hakuohho had him forced back and across in a flash. Good sumo here as Hakuohho moves to 5-2 while Endoh falls to the same 5-2 mark.

The other two rookies, M13 Gonoyama and M14 Shonannoumi, were paired today, and the two clashed chests well coming away in hidari-yotsu where Shonannoumi reached for a right outer grip while Gonoyama moved a bit to his right and had the clear path to a right outer, but he didn't take it and instead backed up a half step to fish for a pull? Who knows because he didn't do anything other than stand there and let Shonannoumi knock him upright with a nice paw to the upper torso before reversing gears and quickly going for a pull. Gonoyama added some extra kick in the legs as he fell, and my opinion is that he was mukiryoku here. The fall was unnatural and he had the wide open path to a right outer grip, and he didn't take it. Whatever as both dudes move to 5-2.

M9 Hokutofuji is a rikishi with the best record so far who no one has muttered a peep about to this point, and the reason is that he's buying the quick start (he was 5-1 coming in). Against M11 Tsurugisho today, Hokutofuji executed his usual tachi-ai where he offers a right straight arm while shading left, and the bout moved to hidari-yotsu at this point although neither dude wanted to go chest to chest. There was a bit of a pause and brief social distancing before Tsurugisho went for a half-assed pull that did nothing, and then it was Hokutofuji's turn to go for a pull, and he was able to yank TS down and out before Tsurugisho could push him across. It was close and terrible sumo all around, but Hokutofuji moves to 6-1 with the win while Tsurugisho falls to the opposite 1-6.

M7 Takayasu entered the day at one loss, and he needed to solve M8 Nishikifuji who came with a hari-zashi tachi-ai slapping with the right and getting the left arm close to the inside, but instead of going chest to chest, Nishikifuji quickly moved right going for a swipe, and he had Takayasu yanked down to the dohyo in two seconds. On one hand, I want to ask, "What was Takayasu trying to do here?" but I already now the one-word answer: nothing.  He falls to 5-2 and hasn't shown anything of worth all basho. Nishikifuji moves to 4-3 with the win.

M7 Tamawashi stuck M6 Hokuseiho with a wicked jab using a right paw to the neck, and The Mawashi moved just enough disallowing the youngster to grab his belt, and it was all the Tamawashi show as he pounded Hokuseiho upright and over until he could grab a left outer grip and usher Hokuseiho back and across with the some oomph. At 6-1, Tamawashi is another guy that hasn't received a ton of attention, and his sumo is legit. Hokuseiho hasn't been manhandled like that very much in the division as he falls to 3-4.

I'll keep an eye on M1 Tobizaru the rest of the way since he's a possible Shukunsho candidate, and today he drew M2 Shodai, a rikishi he can actually handle. Tobizaru ducked under Shodai's outstretched arms at the tachi-ai, but the two were still socially distanced to do much damage, and so they swiped at each other a bit before Tobizaru connected on a sideways swipe with the right hand that opened up moro-zashi for him. Instead of taking it, he focused on a right outer grip at the front of Shodai's belt and dashi-nage'd him this way and that. In the process, Shodai managed to maki-kae to the inside of Tobizaru's frontal grip, but before he could settle in, Tobizaru had him forced back and across. This was haphazard sumo start to finish but the crowd loved it. Tobizaru picks up a rare legit win in these parts moving to 4-3 while Shodai falls to 2-5.

There are a couple of cardinal rules in sumo. 1) Never align your feet, 2) Never pull an arm from the inside of your opponent's arm to the outside, and 3) Never expose your waki, or armpits (I often refer to this as the C3P0 arms). What they really mean with number three is keep your elbows tight against your body making it tough for your foe to get an arm to the inside.

In the Komusubi Kotonowaka - M1 Nishikigi bout today, Nishikigi intentionally violated #1 and #3 from the tachi-ai, and so Kotonowaka got moro-zashi and had Nishikigi forced back and across in under two seconds. As he was moved back, Nishikigi faked a left kote-nage, which was just an excuse for him to move backwards, and this was an arranged bout of sumo no doubt for who knows what reason? The end result is Nishikigi's 14 bout winning streak coming to a halt as he rests at 6-1, and Kotonowaka picked up a freebie here in moving to 5-2.  That pic at right pretty much sums up Nishikigi's attitude here start to finish.

The best line from anyone on the afternoon was Nishikigi's saying after the bout, "I hope I don't start a new streak now of consecutive losses." Nishikigi was handed a couple of cheap wins early on, so what goes around comes around I suppose.

Komusubi Abi won the tachi-ai against Suckiwake Wakamotoharu and fired busy tsuppari into WMH's upper torso and neck, but he wasn't driving with the legs purposefully, and so Abi stood in the middle of the ring and waited for Wakamotoharu to move left and go for a pull that was actually quite soft, but Abi complied and just belly flopped forward and down handing Wakamotoharu the cheap win. This was one of those bouts where the victor got his ass kicked, but oh well. Politics in sumo is a real thing as Wakamotoharu is the worst 5-2 you've ever seen in terms of sumo content while Abi is a quiet 3-4.

Sekiwake Daieisho waited a fraction of a second at the tachi-ai to see what M4 Ura would do, and when Ura stayed put, Daieisho sprang into action pulverizing Ura with some nice tsuppari before chasing Ura around the ring. Simply put, Daieisho's tsuppari were connecting better than Ura could run around the ring's edge, and so with Daieisho in hot pursuit, Ura tripped a bit on his own two feet allowing Daieisho to deliver the final oshi-taoshi blow. I enjoyed this one as Daieisho moves to 5-2 while Ura falls to 4-3.

There was noticeable buzz in the arena for M4 Asanoyama who was paired against Sekiwake Hoshoryu, but the fun and games ended there as Hoshoryu latched onto a left frontal grip from the tachi-ai, and while Asanoyama was able to push that arm away, Hoshoryu quickly countered by going for a pull that sent Asanoyama off balance, and then before the M4 could regain his composure, the Sekiwake moved in and got the left arm inside and right outer grip. Asanoyama was had at this point, and Hoshoryu tried a big belt throw from the center of the ring that Asanoyama survived nicely near the edge, and so Hoshoryu marched the two over to the other side of the dohyo and this time used his right thigh inside of Asanoyama's left as a fulcrum and threw Asanoyama over and down with some vigor.

Asanoyama was visibly shaken after this one, and it took him a bit to get up. Even walking back to the locker room, you could see that something was wrong by the expression on his face, and sure enough, it was announced early on Day 8 that Asanoyama was withdrawing due to a ruptured biceps in his left arm. The dude hasn't been roughed up like that in a very long time, and Hoshoryu's sumo today had definite shades of Uncle Asa. It was quite spectacular to see someone do real chikara-zumo like this even if Asanoyama got hurt, but I guess it's also a reason why so many guys are mukiryoku out there. When you get a rikishi totally over ranked and then he runs into someone who wants to kick his ass, this is what can happen.

Hoshoryu basked in the applause after this one, and the fans couldn't help but think, "Okay, this is what we like about sumo," even if it was Asanoyama on the other end. This was a rare treat as Hoshoryu moves to 6-1, and the only guy on the banzuke capable of beating Hoshoryu straight up right now is Tamawashi. We'll see what the Sekiwake camp decides to do moving forward.

Just when you look back on the day's events and think to yourself, we had mostly straight up bouts today, into the ring stepped the crowd favorite M2 Mitakeumi to finish off the day against Ozeki Kirishima. Kirishima kept his feet aligned at the tachi-ai, but Mitakeumi wasn't exactly moving forward, and so Kirishima got the left arm inside as if to set up a scoop throw, but he just backed up a step and then another step and let his left foot slide across the straw giving Mitakeumi the quick and dirty win.

At least Sanbe Announcer did call it correctly afterwards and say, "He went out of the dohyo too easily," and Sanbe was right. As Kirishima's foot touched outside the lines, Mitakeumi was way up high for his own good, and Kirishima was actually in moro-zashi, but the Ozeki's MO today was to give the crowd some cheap thrills, and everyone seemed to know it. The applause here was tepid even though it was Mitakeumi, but everyone knew it was pure charity.  I did read where Mitakeumi lost his father prior to the basho, so kudos to Kirishima for generously giving up an easy win.

With the gift, Mitakeumi moves to 1-6 while Kirishima ends the day at 2-5. It looks like the Kirishima camp is not going to let the new Ozeki show up OldZeki Takanosho, so both will likely be kadoban come September (sigh).

Today's sumo was actually marred a bit by heavy rain and flooding all over Japan, especially in Akita Prefecture. We'll see if they bring out any celebrities or other shenanigans for the broadcast tomorrow, but I think with all the rain and damage, it's going to be another demure broadcast.

NHK did not flash a leaderboard at the end of Day 7, but if you go down to two-losses it looks like this:

6-1: Hoshoryu, Nishikigi, Tamawashi, Hokutofuji
5-2: Daieisho, Wakamotoharu, Takayasu, Gonoyama, Shonannoumi, Takarafuji, Hakuohho

There's a lot of crap on that makeshift leaderboard, and I'm positive the yusho rikishi is one of the first three on the one-loss line. The only guy capable on the two-loss line is Daieisho, but he just doesn't look at the top of his game so far.

Day 6 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
At this point of the basho, there is little clarity regarding the yusho race, but I think it's safe to say that there's going to be an issue with name recognition in week 2. Nobody really knows who Nishikigi is, and nobody is buying a ticket just to see him. Fans are also unfamiliar with the rookies, and then even the Ozeki candidates aren't stars. As I watched the NHK News 9 broadcast first thing this morning, they were going through the day's results, and when they got to Takayasu (a dude making some noise coming into the day at 5-0), they described him as "Takayasu who has Ozeki experience."

Tactics like this are quite subtle, but I notice them right off, and this was an attempt to try and legitimize the yusho board that will form early in week two. You can't really sell Gonoyama at this point, and many people are learning about Nishikigi for the first time, but hey, we have this guy who used to be an Ozeki!! In regards to Nishikigi, he finished out last basho 8-0, and he obviously entered today undefeated, so they're trying to make a thing of this 13 bout winning streak.

Once again, though, there's no name recognition. You need a gold standard to anchor any yusho race in any sport. You need Djokovic at Wimbledon; you need Brazil to go deep in the World Cup; and you need a team like the New York Yankees. Saying, "Hey, this dude was a triple short of hitting for the cycle today" is quite meaningless, and it doesn't sustain a yusho race.

But, we'll worry about all of that in week 2. For now, let's focus on all the bouts from Day 6 starting with M16 Endoh who welcomed Mitoryu up from Juryo. These two hail from the same college and Endoh is the senpai, and it showed today as Mitoryu was lax at the tachi-ai allowing Endoh to come forward, but when Endoh didn't make a huge impact, Mitoryu grabbed his left arm and backed up near the straw. Endoh still wasn't bearing in hard, and so the two tussled a bit before Endoh threatened a kiri-kaeshi move where you put your thigh at the back of your opponent's thigh (fresh, I know) and topple him over backwards. Endoh actually went thigh to thigh but then relented, but Mitoryu feeling that move come just fell back on his own. If you watch the slow mo replay, you can see that the contact and the fall were not in sync. Whatever as the senpai Endoh (5-1) beats the kohai Mitoryu (3-3) to no one's surprise.

M17 Aoiyama won the tachi-ai against M15 Takarafuji, but he then resorted to his trick of thrusting forward with the hands but backing up in the process. It was obvious Aoiyama was not trying to win this, and as he kept his arms open and exposed, Takarafuji (4-2) eventually got moro-zashi and forced Aoiyama (2-4) across. Ho hum.

M14 Daishoho stayed calm at the tachi-ai against M16 Bushozan using his girth to send his foe onto his heels, and as Bushozan retreated, Daishoho stayed square using the right arm inside to chase Bushozan back and across yori-kiri style. This was pure domination by Daishoho who moves to 2-4 while Bushozan falls to a forgettable 1-5.

The most compelling matchup on paper in the first half were the two rookies M13 Gonoyama and M17 Hakuohho doing battle. Coming into the day, Gonoyama lead the head to head series in Juryo 3-0, which also included a playoff bout for the Juryo yusho last basho.

The tachi-ai was even (because Gonoyama let up), but Gonoyama took charge early knocking Hakuohho back quickly with some nice thrusts, but he then reversed course going for a half-assed pull that was really an excuse to move backwards and put himself at the ring's edge. Because Hakuohho didn't cause that movement, he wasn't ready to finish Gonoyama off, and so the latter tsuppari'ed his way forward again, but you could see Gonoyama letting up and standing there vulnerable, and when Hakuohho finally went for a soft pull with one hand that barely connected, Gonoyama hit the dirt.

Gonoyama dominated this from the start, and if you try and identify a single move made by Hakuohho to dictate Gonoyama's movements, you can find one. Hakuohho briefly had the path to the left arm inside from the start but didn't clue in, and then that one-handed soft pull at the end was nothing. Gonoyama (5-1) dominated here but unfortunately took the dive for who knows what reason??

They kept describing Hakuohho's sumo with the word "kihaku," or force but someone describe for me where this mystical force was?? They almost spoke of Hakuohho in reverent tones as he made his way to the back halls saying, "ii sumo deshita," or that was good sumo, and I'm like...are we watching the same thing here?

Moving right along, M15 Ryuden and M13 Kotoshoho greeted each other with long stiff arms, but Ryuden quickly brushed that aside and got the left arm inside and began forcing KSH back, and before Kotoshoho could even think about countering with a pull, Ryuden had him forced across for the easy and uneventful win. Both rikishi finish the day at 2-4.

M12 Chiyoshoma was a bit late at the tachi-ai against M14 Shonannoumi, and so he failed to grab a left frontal grip and was pushed back a bit, but Shonannoumi wasn't exactly bringing the beating stick, and so Chiyoshoma used a face slap or two and jockeyed his way back into the left inside position with a right outer grip. After the Mongolian threatened a soto-gake, the rookie did well to try and fight off his opponent's grip with a left scoop throw, but Chiyoshoma (3-3) was latched on too tight and easily forced Shonannoumi (4-2) back and across for the methodic win.

M11 Tsurugisho executed a quick hari-zashi at the tachi-ai against M9 Takanosho slapping with the right and getting the left inside, and the move worked great giving Tsurugisho the path to moro-zashi. Instead of taking it, however, he reversed course and just backed up as if to go for a pull, but the move never came and so Takanosho rode the momentum and forced his willing foe back in less than three seconds. Tsurugisho dictated everything here in this fixed bout that left both guys at 1-5.

M11 Kotoeko shaded a bit right at the tachi-ai and actually leaned backwards signaling his intentions from the gun against M9 Hokutofuji, and so the latter dutifully moved forward getting the right arm inside, but since Hokutofuji didn't set any of this up, Kotoeko actually had the easy path to the left outer grip, which he took. Like the tachi-ai, however, Kotoeko wasn't trying to take advantage, and he completely took his right inside position out of play and kept that limb limp (pictured at left) and just waited for Hokutofuji to force him over to the edge. Once again, Eko was dictating things here, and so the force out was weak resulting in Kotoeko getting turned around 180 degrees and softly hitting the dirt of his own volition. Hokutofuji buys another one here in moving to 5-1 while Kotoeko is a harmless 3-3.

M10 Kinbohzan came with a quick hari-zashi slapping with the left and trying to get the right arm inside against M8 Sadanoumi, but the Sadamight did not want to go chest to chest understandably, and so he moved laterally trying to turn the tables. This threw Kinbohzan off his game a bit, and Sadanoumi tried to secure a grip on the front of Kinbohzan's belt, but it was Khazzy Stan who came away with the left frontal belt grip, and he used that to lift Sadanoumi upright at the edge before forcing him across. This was a good tussle from both parties, but Kinbohzan's power won out in the end. Kinbohzan showed actual kihaku in moving to 4-2 while Sadanoumi falls to 1-5.

M10 Myogiryu got his left arm inside of M8 Nishikifuji at the tachi-ai and then put his right hand up high going for the instant pull of his opponent, and Nishikifuji just walked into it plodding over to the edge and putting both palms to the dirt all in less than two seconds. Nice arranged bout here that left both dudes at 3-3.

M7 Tamawashi used effective tsuppari to keep M5 Hiradoumi completely at bay, and as Hiradoumi looked to press forward and get something going, Tamawashi pulled him quickly off balance with the right and then got that right arm inside and used it to wrench Hiradoumi over and out moving to 5-1 in the process. Hiradoumi (1-5) gave it a good fight, but he was simply outclassed by the crafty Mongolian.

M7 Takayasu welcomed M5 Onosho, and before we go any further, did you know Takayasu has Ozeki experience?? Just checkin'. Takayasu reached for the front of Onosho's belt with the right from the tachi-ai, but Onosho charged hard and not only knocked Takayasu away from the belt, but he sent him so upright that Onosho was able to work his way into moro-zashi and defeat Takayasu in three or four seconds. When Takayasu's opponents actually try and beat him, we see lopsided sumo like this. Takayasu falls to 5-1 in defeat while Onosho moves to 2-4.

M4 Asanoyama--a former Ozeki himself!!--struck fairly well against M6 Ohho looking to get the right arm inside, but Ohho quickly erased that and kept Asanoyama upright and in a bit of trouble with some thrusts, but instead of focusing on that nice tsuppari attack, Ohho just skirted all the way over to the edge and stood there as Asanoyama came forward and grabbed the right inside position and left outer grip. Ohho made no effort to counter that and went back quietly giving Asanoyama the sheepish win. Asanoyama had to buy this one for sure in moving to 4-2 while Ohho falls to 2-4 a richer dude.

For the first time since the basho began, NHK News 9 did NOT replay any of the bouts from the Ozeki candidates. Instead, they showed Nishikigi's bout and then the M6 Hokuseiho - M4 Ura contest. Hokuseiho was very cautious from the tachi-ai, and you can't blame him. I mean, Ura's not gonna blow you off the starting lines, so the best option is to react and then grab him. As expected, Ura ducked in low, and Hokuseiho let him grab moro-zashi opting to latch on with an easy right outer grip over the top. Once this position was established, the fight was on, and it was Ura looking for openings by tripping at Hokusieho's legs trying to get the giant off balance.

As for Hokuseiho, his nonchalance here hurt him because Ura was too fast and too crafty for Hokuseiho to control. At times, Hokuseiho would attempt to throw Ura over with the right outer grip, but Ura was already at the legs and would wrap his leg around Hokuseiho's and hold on. In the end, Ura simply outmaneuvered his foe and got him turned around 180 degrees, and from there, the okuri-dashi was inevitable. The sumo here was not excellent, but the fans loved it and it was real. We'll see if this is the number one streamed bout from the day (Asanoyama - Hokuseiho was #1 from yesterday) as Ura moves to 4-2 with the entertaining win while Hokuseiho falls to 3-3.

As M2 Mitakeumi entered the dohyo, there was a noticeable roar of excitement from the crowd, and that's when it hit me that this dude is from Nagoya. Unfortunately, nobody's showing him any charity, and M1 Tobizaru was stingy again today ducking in low and getting the right arm inside and a left outer grip from the get-go, and Mitakeumi was simply up too high at this point to do anything. He tried to use his weight advantage to make life difficult for Tobizaru, but the latter used a series of dashi-nage moves to twist Mitakeumi around 180 degrees, and we got our second okuri-dashi in as many bouts. This was okay sumo as Tobizaru moves to 3-3 while Mitakeumi falls to 6-6.

Talking about M1 Nishikigi in the media has become unavoidable. Not only did the dude start out 5-0 coming into the day, but he boasts wins over Kirishima (by default), Terunofuji, Hoshoryu, Daieisho, and Wakamotoharu. It doesn't take a learned man to realize his opponents are only going to get worse from here. I wouldn't call Komusubi Abi a slouch, but he can be a tricky opponent. Abi was quick out of the gate standing Nishikigi up with his tsuppari attack, but there was little meat behind it, and so NG was able to brush it off and threaten a forward charge of his own. As he did, Abi tried to keep him at bay with defensive tsuppari as he backed up, but Nishikigi's reach was too good, and he was able to forearm Abi (3-3) back and across before being pulled to the dirt himself.

Nishikigi was totally defensive today, and that was a result of Abi's being proactive at the tachi-ai, but the dude is proving to be a lug to move around, and he's the only unscathed rikishi now at 6-0. The media has plenty to play off of here considering his scalps this basho and the fact that he has now won 14 bouts in a row. I say ride this guy to the yusho because he's got legit tools and can actually play the part of a championship rikishi. He's a beast!!

Ozeki candidate Daieisho stepped into the ring against Komusubi Kotonowaka, and Daieisho was timid from the tachi-ai. He still came with his tsuppari attack, but you can't be timid and push an absolute lug like Kotonowaka around. After taking Daieisho's best shots, it was clear that Kotonowaka was not going to be pushed back and out, and so Daieisho panicked going for a stupid pull and Kotonowaka pounced at that point moving forward well and timing a nice pull that sent Daieisho to the dirt. Both rikishi stand now at 4-2, and the arena got really quiet after this one because they realize these Japanese Ozeki candidates are going nowhere.

Sekiwake Hoshoryu toyed with the idea of getting the right inside at the tachi-ai against M3 Midorifuji, but the M3 is a bit slippery and so Hoshoryu switched gears and went with the left inside. Midorifuji would not hold still--understandably, and he actually worked his way into moro-zashi, but it was purely a defensive posture, so he wasn't in a position to attack. Hoshoryu wrapped around both arms tightly in the kime position and looked to drag Midorifuji across and out, but as Midorifuji resisted, Hoshoryu put his right foot at the back of Midori's left and tripped him over soto-gake style. That was definitely Ozeki sumo there, and the way the Mongolians can make these lightning quick adjustments is impressive. Hoshoryu moves to a quiet 5-1, and I get why he's still not getting a ton of run while Midorifuji falls to 1-5.

Suckiwake Wakamotoharu is quickly switching to "I need some charity mode." Today against M3 Meisei, the latter won the tachi-ai and had the firm inside position with the left, but Meisei purposefully kept his right arm away from the inside, which would have given him moro-zashi. I knew the outcome at that point, and with Meisei just standing there, Wakamotoharu went for a weak pull, and Meisei complied just diving to the dirt before WMH actually made contact. Go ahead and watch the slow mo replays for this one. Meisei starts his dive before Wakamotoharu connect on the slapdown. This is the darker side of sumo as Wakamotoharu is gifted 4-2 while Meisei will be compensated at 2-4.

In the day's final affair, Ozeki Kirishima caught M2 Shodai with some nice tsuppari from the tachi-ai to keep him upright, and then as Shodai looked to duck forward, Kirishima adjusted on a dime and pulled Shodai forward and down using his own momentum against him. To think that Kirishima couldn't have done this yesterday against Tobizaru is laughable, but we all know the score. Kirishima checks in at 2-4 with the easy win while Shodai falls to the same mark.

I'm committed to doing reports both days on the weekend as I'm hitting the road on Monday, and who knows what will happen in Week 2.

Day 5 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
With the withdrawal of Terunofuji and the intentional terrible record assigned to Kirishima through the first five days, the basho has lost a ton of stability. The only storyline the news programs are focusing on is the potential promotion to Ozeki of Daieisho, Wakamotoharu, and Hoshoryu. It's kind of a risky proposition to expect this storyline to persist throughout the entire basho when two of the three can't get their on their own, and the one who can is Mongolian. By the time some of these candidates fade out, the Association will have a yusho race forming that can relieve some of the pressure, but the yusho board that's forming already is soft and lacks any rikishi with heavy name recognition.

We'll see where we are in a week from now, but don't be surprised if this basho turns into a hot mess that lacks real continuity. With that, let's get to the day's action that began with Roga visiting from the J2 slot to take on M16 Bushozan. The two clashed fairly well at the tachi-ai looking to hook up in hidari-yotsu, and Roga made the first move testing the shitate-nage waters with the left to which Bushozan reacted with a counter kote-nage from the right. Because Roga was the one who pressed the action, Bushozan's kote-nage was weak and it left him in a bad position with no footing, and that enabled Roga (2-3) to swoop in and score the yori-kiri win. It wasn't great sumo, but I'll take it as Bushozan falls to 1-4.

At this point, they reviewed the top three streamed bouts from the previous day, and Asanoyama climbed back into the #1 slot after the withdrawal of Terunofuji. What's interesting is this guy won't be part of the major storylines heading into week 2 (he's not part of any major storyline now either), so we'll see if some of these new guys they're hyping can make a dent. Here's where the focus was yesterday with online streaming:

#1 Asanoyama - Onosho
#2 Nishikigi - Daieisho
#3 Kotonowaka - Kirishima

M16 Endoh charged well into M15 Takarafuji who was totally working the C3P0 arms, and that gave Endoh moro-zashi for free. From there, Endoh kept his forward momentum going as Takarafuji backed up in tow and lamely faked a few counter tsuki with the right arm, but it was limp as a wet rag, and this one was predetermined as Endoh scored the uncontested force-out win. I mean, it did look good for Endoh who moves to 4-1, but no doubt Takarafuji (3-2) was mukiryoku from the tachi-ai.

M15 Ryuden and M17 Hakuohho clashed well from the tachi-ai going chest to chest in a classic hidari-yotsu contest, and it didn't take long for Ryuden to use his long arms and grab a stifling right outer grip. The rookie dug in well and attempted a left scoop throw in an effort to break off Ryuden's uwate, but it didn't work, and so Ryuden patiently waited for Hakuohho to tire out for a few more seconds before executing the textbook yori-kiri. This was a nice, linear win for Ryuden who moves to 1-4, and you have to credit Hakuohho for staying close and trying to fight his way out of it. He falls to 3-2, but I liked what a saw from him today. His big weakness already is those crocodile arms of his.

As they showed Ryuden walking down the back halls of they venue, they flashed the details of the last bout as:

Aoiyama (winner): 2-2
Shonannoumi (loser): 3-1

It made about as much sense as the banzuke these days, so I was fine with it.

Which brings us to the next bout that actually featured M17 Aoiyama vs. M14 Shonannoumi. Unfortunately, the NHK prophecy was not fulfilled as Aoiyama purposefully aligned his feet at the tachi-ai offering defensive tsuppari. Shonannoumi couldn't take advantage, however, even when Aoiyama backed himself up to the straw, and so the Happy Bulgar lightly pushed his way back to the center of the ring only to back up again for no reason, and on the second time, the rookie managed a feeble right belt grip as he pushed Aoiyama across that last half step.

The analysis after this one by Chiyootori in the mukou-joumen chair was, "Shonannoumi looked heavy." Yes, of course. He was heavy! How did I miss that? Anyway, the nuance there is that Shonannoumi was hard to move around, and I'm like was Aoiyama even trying to move him around? While watching the replay, they finally admitted that Shonannoumi was on the receiving end most of the way, but he won because he was heavy. Regardless of that nonsense, the heavy one moves to 4-1 with the obvious gift while Aoiyama falls to 4-3.

M14 Daishoho henka'd wildly to his left at the tachi-ai reaching for the side of M12 Chiyoshoma's belt, but he didn't come close to getting it, and so Shoma pivoted nicely and forced the bout to migi-yotsu where he had a solid left grip at the front of the Hutt's belt. Daishoho didn't have a pot to piss in at this point with his right arm stuck up high and into his own body, but Chiyoshoma let go of the outer grip and allowed Daishoho to get his own left outer, and from there JabbaNoSho scored the uncontested yori-kiri. Daishoho is gifted win #1 at 1-4 while Chiyoshoma falls to 2-3.

M11 Tsurugisho executed a hari-zashi tachi-ai scoring on a decent face slap against M13 Kotoshoho, but he didn't bother getting to the inside of KSH who was standing completely upright. Instead, Tsurugisho just backed up not even really going for a pull, and Kotoshoho followed in tow scoring the cheap oshi-dashi win. What a puff bout gifted to Kotoshoho who moves to 2-3 while TS falls to 1-4.

M11 Kotoeko turned his right shoulder inward at the tachi-ai against M13 Gonoyama, and that's a great way to guarantee getting your ass kicked. Gonoyama smelled blood and charged forward, but Kotoeko moved a bit left forcing the two to circle around a bit as Gonoyama focused on tsuppari while Kotoeko was in a defensive posture showing his opponent his palms as he tried to slap him away. There was a lot of bark going on here but very little bite, and in the end, Kotoeko anticipated a swipe move that didn't really come from the rookie. I mean, Gonoyama slapped him on the wrist, but Kotoeko just put both knees down to the dohyo in submission. What a stellar ending to this bout as Gonoyama buys his way to 5-0 while Kotoeko is just fine at 3-2.

You could tell at the tachi-ai that neither M9 Takanosho or M10 Myogiryu were going at it hard (cool, I said "hard"), and neither dude wanted to get into the clinch so it was half yotsu half oshi before Takanosho executed a needless maki-kae with the right before taking a knee with the left. Two bouts in a row where a dude that weighs around 150 KG hit the dirt due to contact that wouldn't make a leedle girl cry. The end result is Takanosho's falling to 0-5 while Myogiryu buys one here at 2-3.

M10 Kinbohzan kept his arms in tight against M8 Nishikifuji who moved forward well but didn't strike hard, and so Kinbohzan simply moved to his left going for a quick pull and Nishikifuji hit the dirt just like that. Kinbohzan is a quiet 3-2 while Nishikifuji falls to the same 3-2 mark.

M8 Sadanoumi was completely limp at the tachi-ai against M9 Hokutofuji doing nothing with his arms and standing straight up, and so Hokutofuji fired his usual tsuppari which frankly weren't doing much. At one point, Sadanoumi had the path to the inside right position, but he didn't take it and instead faked a bad pull that was really an excuse to turn himself around at the edge so Hokutofuji could softly push him across okuri-dashi style.

M7 Tamawashi's hands came in high at the tachi-ai allowing M5 Onosho to get the left arm deep to the inside, but Onosho's not strong enough to force Tamawashi back if The Mawashi is trying to win, and so the Mongolian latched on with the right hand at the back of Onosho's belt, secured the left inside, and then turned the tables sending Onosho across via yori-kiri. Nice comeback for Tamawashi as he moves to 4-1 while Onosho falls to 1-4.

M7 Takayasu struck M5 Hiradoumi pretty well at the tachi-ai, but his hands were a bit high giving Hiradoumi an opening to moro-zashi if he cared to take it. He didn't and just stood their lamely as Takayasu went for a mediocre pull, and Hiradoumi's response was to somersault forward and across the dohyo as if the Incredible Hulk had just bludgeoned him. Give me a break. Takayasu deserves points for his tachi-ai in moving to 5-0, but he didn't follow that up with anything effective, and his insides were completely exposed. Fortunately for him, the bout was fixed, and so we got that over the top somersault from Hiradoumi (1-4) in the end.

M6 Ohho came in high at the tachi-ai against M4 Ura hoping to catch his smaller foe with a tsuppari attack, but Ura was able to backpedal just enough to force Ohho to come forward a bit. Ura then squatted as he is wont to do and came up and under Ohho countering with pushes of his own, and Ohho panicked at that point go for an immediate pull that Ura completely exploited by using Ohho's backwards momentum against him to shove him back and off the dohyo altogether. Good win for the crafty Ura who moves to 3-2 while Ohho falls to 2-3.

The tachi-ai between M4 Asanoyama and M6 Hokuseiho was excellent with both dudes coming away in the gappuri migi-yotsu position (inside rights and outside left belt grips). Early on in his bouts, Hokuseiho usually lazily fights from an upright stance, but he was leaning in hard against Asanoyama today, and the former faux-zeki was clearly uncomfortable. The two stood this way for about 10 seconds before Asanoyama tried to break off Hokuseiho's outer grip and lift him upright into force-out position, but it just wasn't enough, and Hokuseiho was able to maintain that outer grip and turn the tables putting Asanoyama's back against the edge, and Hokuseiho was simply too big for Asanoyama to counter. It was a really good bout of sumo, but Hokuseiho was just too much for Asanoyama to handle, and this was one of the better bouts of the tournament so far as Hokuseiho picks up a good win for him in moving to 3-2 while Asanoyama falls to the same mark.

Early on in the broadcast, they showed the lightest rikishi in the division, and M3 Midorifuji was #1 checking in at 116 kg. The next lightest was 132 kg, and that's a huge difference between #1 and #2, so Midorifuji is always at a disadvantage.

Today he drew M2 Mitakeumi, and the latter came in too high allowing Midorifuji to fish for moro-zashi. Midori-chan had the right arm firmly inside but didn't want to commit fully with the left, and so as the two stood in a stalemate in the center of the ring, you wondered if Midorifuji would go for a legit kata-sukashi. Mitakeumi's only option was to lean into his opponent and use his weight advantage, and the two jockeyed in the ring for over a minute like this with Midorifuji occasionally testing the dashi-nage waters. At the minute thirty mark, Midorifuji tried for a winning dashi-nage and didn't quite get it, but as Mitakeumi smelled blood and went for the quick force-out, Midorifuji just slipped to his left and felled Mitakeumi with a nice tsuki to the side. Real sumo vs. fake sumo is so obvious, and it was great to get a real bout here as Midorifuji moves to 1-4 with Mitakeumi falling to 0-5 (gulp).

Komusubi Kotonowaka snuck his left arm inside at the tachi-ai as M2 Shodai came forward without a purpose, so with Shodai largely upright and moving towards his foe, Kotonowaka easily worked his way into moro-zashi. Shodai knew he was in a pickle at that point, and so he tried to backpedal quickly and score on a pull, but Baby Waka was too fast and stayed snug forcing Shodai across with some oomph. Kotonowaka dominated here in moving to 3-2 while Shodai falls to 2-3.

First up today among the Ozeki candidates was Sekiwake Hoshoryu paired against Komusubi Abi, and Abi henka'd wildly to his left from the tachi-ai, but came away with little, and so he kept moving left fishing for a pull. It wasn't effective whatsoever, however, and so Hoshoryu easily squared himself back up and tugged at Abi's outstretched left arm pulling him forward to where Abi's back was now to his foe. Before Hoshoryu could execute the okuri-dashi, Abi just sorta hit the dirt and landed on his arse near the edge. They ruled it okuri-hiki-otoshi, which is a pull down from behind, but this was more of a spastic fall than anything. It wasn't great sumo that's for sure, but it was Abi who was flying all over the place starting with that henka and not Hoshoryu out of control. Hoshoryu moves to 4-1 with the easy win while Abi falls to 3-2.

M1 Nishikigi stuck Suckiwake Wakamotoharu hard from the tachi-ai, and WMH may as well have run into a brick wall because he bounced off of his foe doing no damage. Nishikigi was fishing for the left frontal belt grip, but because WMH bounced away, NG just plowed forward keeping Wakamotoharu snug with the left inside, and this one was over in maybe two seconds. Nishikigi's sumo was purely linear, and this was an ass kicking if I've ever seen one. It also begs the obvious questions as to who's the real Ozeki candidate? Wakamotoharu has shown little this basho in falling to 3-2 while Nishikigi is 5-0 if you need him.

Sekiwake Daieisho stuck M3 Meisei well at the tachi-ai with tsuppari into the upper torso, and when Meisei didn't show much fight, Daieisho drove him back and across causing Meisei to stare into the rafters as he crossed the straw. This was quite lopsided, and I'm not sure how much Meisei was trying, but you can't fault Daieisho's tachi-ai and subsequent tsuppari attack. Great sumo today as Daieisho puts himself in good position at 4-1 while Meisei falls to 2-3.

In the day's final affair, Ozeki Kirishima welcomed M1 Tobizaru with some stiff thrusts from the tachi-ai, and the Ozeki had Tobizaru sent back a full step without a pot to piss in, but then for no other reason than to throw the bout, Kirishima started to backpedal as if to pull, but he never went for one until he was at the edge, and there he latched onto Tobizaru and pulled him directly into his own body as Kirishima stepped back and across the straw just like that. That was obvious as Kirishima purposefully blunders his way to 1-4 while Tobizaru (2-3) can definitely pick up an undeserved Shukunsho if he can win eight.

To review, Kirishima's only purpose here is to have an Ozeki on the board so they can say later on that so and so beat an Ozeki on their way to the yusho or promotion to faux-zeki.

We had some great bouts today, but we also had some obvious yaocho including the final bout of the day, but as long as the fans are happy, right?

Day 4 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
Day 2 was pretty much a carbon copy of Day 1 in that all of the rookies won in fixed bouts (the Takarafuji fall against Shonannoumi was laughable), and all of the Ozeki won in legitimate fashion over scrub opponents. Obviously the biggest news coming from Day 2 was the Terunofuji loss to Nishikigi. That throw by Nishikigi was legit. I mean, the guy is strong enough to throw the Yokozuna via kote-nage, but only if Terunofuji was intentionally limp, which he was. Coincidentally, during the Day 3 broadcast when they showed the most streamed bouts from Day 2, the Terunofuji - Nishikigi bout was number one with the Asanoyama - Ura bout coming in at number two.

That was the first time that Asanoyama has been dethroned since he regained sekitori status, and if I remember correctly, the dude was sometimes involved in the most streamed bout during his Makushita stint. I was curious to see what the top three from Day 3 would be as announced on the Day 4 broadcast, and here's what they posted:

#1 Terunofuji - Tobizaru
#2 Asanoyama - Hiradoumi
#3 Hoshoryu - Nishikigi

Once again, Asanoyama was knocked down to the second-tier and while the "defeat" of a Yokozuna is always big news, Terunofuji lost countless times in previous basho and the Asanoyama bout was still always #1. So, the question is: why is Asanoyama now trending down even though he's moving up the banzuke?

I think the answer is as simple as the bloom is now off the rose. The more people see him in the Makuuchi division, the more they're subconsciously realizing, "This dude is terrible." I mean, he was worked by Hiradoumi immensely yesterday before the latter had to fake a counter tsuki move which was really an effort to back up to the edge so Asanoyama could poke him across. At some point, it really does come down to sumo-naiyou (or sumo content), and it's obvious that Asanoyama is completely reactionary out there and winning bouts due to yaocho.

And while we're on the topic of reactionary sumo and winning by yaocho, none of the rookies have yet to win a legitimate bout this basho. One very curious bout was the Hakuohho - Takarafuji bout from Day 3 where the rookie took an obvious dive a few seconds in against hardly any contact from Takarafuji. I have no idea what the politics were behind that fall, but the point is that Hakuohho and the other rookies have not established their brand of sumo.

Just analyze the sumo from them this basho and list their strengths. Strong tachi-ai? No. Good belt skills? No. Strong thrust attack? No. When describing their sumo strengths (or lack thereof), I think the M17 Hakuohho - M14 Bushozan matchup today was a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Bushozan dominated the tachi-ai and sent Hakuohho back to the straw immediately with potent thrusts to the neck and tits, and the rookie had no answer. Luckily for him, Bushozan intentionally stopped his charge at the edge and turned the bout to hidari-yotsu as he allowed the action to flow back to the center of the ring. Once in the stalemate, it was Bushozan who just stood there waiting for Hakuohho to grab an uncontested right outer grip. Bushozan was still in full control at that point and could have bullied the rookie around just as he did from the tachi-ai, but he waited and waited for Hakuohho to finally get a right outer grip. He eventually got it, and once obtained, Bushozan (1-3) faked a maki-kae, which was simply an excuse to back up and leave himself completely vulnerable to a yori-kiri.

So you analyze Hakuohho's sumo, and here's what you have: lost the tachi-ai; had his heels against the straw two seconds in; did nothing to force the action back to the center of the ring; did not have to jockey or wrench his foe in any way to set up a gifted right outer; had to rely on negative momentum from his opponent in the form of a failed maki-kae to score the yori-kiri. Hakuohho's three wins have all been gifted to him now at 3-1, and I think moving forward, the public is going to figure out that he is showing nothing at the moment.

It doesn't mean he or any of the other rookies can't learn to fight in the division and develop into good rikishi, but up to this point they have purchased all of their wins.

Before we skip too far ahead of ourselves, Day 4 began with M16 Endoh taking on M17 Aoiyama, and Aoiyama easily fended off Endoh's search for the inside position using a nice tsuppari attack, and he had Endoh on the run in short order with beefy thrusts that chased Endoh to the edge but not across on purpose. As Aoiyama sorta paused at ring's edge waiting for a counter move, Endoh swiped him to the side, but it wasn't enough force to knock Aoiyama forward and down. Aoiyama still dove across the straw anyway, but Endoh was too out of control as he spun around in that counter attempt, and he carelessly let his right toe graze across the straw before Aoiyama (2-2) hit the dirt. Oops. So much for Endoh's nice start as he falls to 3-1.

M14 Daishoho nonchalantly knocked M15 Takarafuji back a half step before going completely limp and allowing Takarafuji moro-zashi. As Takarafuji looked to execute a yori charge, Daishoho (0-4) let him do it and just backed across of his own volition in this uneventful contest. Takarafuji sheepishly moves to 3-1 with another ill-gotten win.

M15 Ryuden won the tachi-ai against M13 Gonoyama before quickly standing upright and pulling his hands out high and wide which allowed Gonoyama to do what he wanna. After the shaky start, Gonoyama executed a very nice tsuppari attack that knocked the willing Ryuden back and across in short order, and while Gonoyama deserves kudos for that nice tsuppari finish, Ryuden totally let him do it. I'm still waiting for a rookie to win a tachi-ai as Gonoyama is gifted 4-0 while Ryuden falls to 0-4.

M13 Kotoshoho beat M14 Shonannoumi back from the tachi-ai rather easily and forced the rookie to go for a very ill-advised pull moving back and to the right. After the momentum seized from the tachi-ai, KSH could have made Shonannoumi pay big time for that pull, but instead he just ducked his head and waited for another meager pull. The hiki attempt was so bad, Kotoshoho actually had to turn his back to the straw himself and pretend he slipped falling back and across the straw in comical fashion with hardly any contact coming from the rook. Another obvious yaocho as Shonannoumi moves to 3-1 while Kotoshoho falls to 1-3.

Before we move on, it will be interesting to see if any of these guys make the top three during the basho. Hakuohho made it a few times as Ochiai from Juryo, so why is he not making here in Makuuchi? I think it's for the same reason as Asanoyama. Day after day you watch his sumo and there is very little substance.

Speaking of sumo with very little substance, M12 Chiyoshoma executed a quick hari-zashi against M11 Kotoeko and had the easy path to the left inside with his foe up high, but he made sure to pull both arms to the outside, and before Kotoeko knew what hit him, Chiyoshoma faked a pull that allowed Shoma to just move to the other side of the dohyo where a failed left kote-nage from Chiyoshoma was the final move that allowed Kotoeko to catch up and score the yori-kiri win. This was a good example of the loser winning the tachi-ai and completely running circles around his foe all in an effort to move to the edge and set him up for defeat. Easy yaocho call as Kotoeko is gifted 3-1 while Chiyoshoma falls to 2-2.

M10 Kinbohzan got the easy right arm inside against M11 Tsurugisho, but you could see Kinbohzan just go limp as Tsurugisho looked to set up a wild throw with the left outer. The throw never came because Kinbohzan just put his left arm down quick as a cat giving Tsurugisho the cheap win. If you ask me, Khazzy Stan needs a few acting lessons as he falls to 2-2 while Tsurugisho was gifted this one in moving to 1-3.

Before we move on, why do the fans put up with such bad sumo and improbable falls on a constant basis??

The tachi-ai from M10 Myogiryu and M9 Hokutofuji was bad where the rikishi never really clashed and maintained a sliver of social distancing. With Myogiryu up high and limp, Hokutofuji sorta went for a tsuppari attack, but then he quickly switched to pull mode and Myogiryu just ducked down and put his hand to the dohyo before a real pull ever came to fruition. Another implausible, bad ending as Hokutofuji fakes his way to 3-1 while Myogiryu falls to 1-3.

M9 Takanosho placed a few nice tsuppari into M7 Takayasu from the tachi-ai, but you could see the dude wasn't moving forward hard. Takayasu was befuddled at this point and had to move laterally and go for a very weak pull that did little. Takanosho responded with an equally weak shoulder slap whose intention was not to do damage, and the two squared up from there practicing enough social distancing to keep the bout from going chest to chest. Takanosho was clearly mukiryoku from the start, and so he largely stood there from this point and waited for Takayasu to finally execute a mediocre pull, and Takanosho dutifully went down to the dirt. Takayasu is a terrible 4-0 while Takanosho is a bit richer at 0-4.

M7 Tamawashi was rather nonchalant from the tachi-ai against M8 Nishikifuji largely looking for pull opportunities as he let the M8 do his thang for a bit, but it wasn't much, and so Tamawashi finally thrust NFJ upright and grabbed a very loose right outer grip that actually undid Nishikifuji's belt, but Tamawashi had him forced across before the belt could completely come unraveled...thankfully. Both rikishi end the day at 3-1 after this lackluster bout, and this bout received a bit of run because Tamawashi moved into 8th place all time for most consecutive bouts fought in Makuuchi at 886 (yawn).

M8 Sadanoumi had the path to the inside with the right against M6 Ohho, but he failed to take it, and so the Sadamight stood limp as Ohho sorta worked him around the ring and back with a light thrust attack. The deciding "blow" was light enough that Sadanoumi was able to keep his footing and make sure he exited the dohyo with plenty of real estate for his feet. Tsuki-dashi this wasn't as Ohho buys one here in moving to 2-2 while Sadanoumi falls to 1-3.

M6 Hokuseiho stood upright from the tachi-ai (what's new?), and that allowed M5 Hiradoumi get moro-zashi, but you could just tell Hiradoumi wasn't looking to score points with both arms inside, and so he quickly brought the left arm to the outside giving Hokuseiho the free right inside position to go with his left outer. The youngster wasn't able to finish Hiradoumi off despite the gift, so the action moved back to the center of the ring. From there, Hiradoumi was content to simply wait for Hokuseiho to attack, and once he did, Hiradoumi went straight back instead of looking for a counter move. Hiradoumi threw this one in falling to 1-3 while Hokuseiho moves to 2-2.

The tachi-ai between M4 Asanoyama and M5 Onosho was fiddy-fiddy with Onosho coming away with with the left frontal belt grip as both rikishi had right arms to the inside. Onosho executed a maki-kae from here giving him moro-zashi, but instead of attacking with oomph, he stayed limp and allowed Asanoyama to maki-kae while already moving backwards.

If we pause the tape here, a maki-kae is an extremely desperate move, and you never execute it while backpedaling as that would spell certain death. Well, certain death against a rikishi who was trying to win. Onosho wasn't look to win here, however, and so he allowed Asanoyama to maki-kae with the right and go for a right kote-nage with zero momentum. He wouldn't need any momentum as Onosho just went with it and flopped forward and down. Look at Asanoyama's footwork as he executes that kote-nage. They are completely flat and provide no momentum for the throw, and there is no way a sumo rikishi can execute a throw without properly using his lower body for leverage. We'll see where this fake bout checks in tomorrow as part of the top three. Asanoyama buys his way to 3-1 while Onosho falls to 1-3.

M3 Meisei stayed way upright against M4 Ura gifting Ura the inside had he wanted it. Ura didn't and instead moved right going for some bad pulls, but Meisei just played along and then offered his own pull near the edge whose only purpose was to guarantee Ura a compromised opponent that he could push out for the cheap oshi-dashi win. Ura was still out of control after the bout in moving to 2-2 while Meisei agreed to fall to the same mark.

Terunofuji-killer, M1 Tobizaru, wasn't so lucky today in his bout against Komusubi Abi with the Komusubi looking to win. Abi's footwork was suspect from the tachi-ai as he put two hands into Tobizaru's neck, but you can get away with bad footwork against Tobizaru, and with the M1 unable to do anything, Abi righted the ship in his thrust attack that forced Tobizaru to try and pirouette away, but before he could, Abi caught him near the edge and shoved his arse across. It wasn't pretty, but Abi will take his 3-1 record while Tobizaru falls to 1-3.

Any hype Sekiwake Wakamotoharu generated the first two days was quickly put into perspective yesterday after getting his ass kicked by Shodai. Yes, Shodai. Today, the WMH camp smartly arranged their bout against M3 Midorifuji because the Ozeki-hopeful looked awful again. From the tachi-ai, he all but gave up moro-zashi to Midorifuji, but Midori-chan wouldn't take it and instead set up a kata-sukashi move with the left inside and right in position for a shoulder slap, but he intentionally whiffed on the move as an excuse to back up to the edge. As Wakamotoharu looked to advance, Midorifuji next ducked forward and down right into a Wakamotoharu pull attempt that was a reaction to Midorifuji's ducking his head and diving forward, not anything that the Suckiwake was trying to set up. Midorifuji (0-4) flopped noisily to the dirt kicking his legs out behind him in this fake bout that saw Wakamotoharu move to 3-1. Ozeki sumo this wasn't.

Sekiwake Daieisho jumped a split second early from the tachi-ai firing thrusts into M1 Nishikigi's neck, but you could see that he didn't have any confidence in the move, and so it was more of Nishikigi retreating than Daieisho's knocking him back. The result at the edge was Nishikigi moving quickly to his left and yanked the timid Daieisho down to his knee with a hikkake tug at the left arm of Daieisho. Sheesh, the more they hype these faux-zeki runs, the worse the sumo gets as Daieisho suffers his first loss at 3-1 while Nishikigi is a lock for the Shukunsho already at 4-0.

At this point of the broadcast, they announced the withdrawal of Yokozuna Terunofuji who threw his bout against yesterday against Tobizaru. There's no point breaking down that senseless contest, and the reason given for Fuji's withdrawal was a lower back injury. Yeah, right. Blame it on the lower back or the knees; it works every time.

What was interesting was the timing of the withdrawal. It was all but forecast a day before the basho started that Kiribayama would join the festivities starting on Day 4, and so you conveniently have one elite rikishi going out while the other one comes back. When you have three Ozeki candidates, it gets really weak to promote them without a single elite rikishi actively fighting in the tournament, and so you need some sort of presence to make it look more legit. Kiribayama was never injured to begin with, and this little dipsy-do between these two Mongolians was an effort to ensure that neither would steal the spotlight and the yusho race. I don't believe Terunofuji's intention from the start was to withdraw after Day 3, but once it was assured that Kiribayama would come back, he was like, "I'm outta here." And despite what anyone in the media says, everyone is secretly glad that he's gone.

Okay, enough of that. Shodai picks up the freebie from the Yokozuna withdrawal and moves to 2-2.

Up next was Sekiwake Hoshoryu who drew M2 Mitakeumi on the day, and Mitakeumi gave his foe as much of a fight as he could muster firing a few tsuppari into Hoshoryu's neck, but it didn't faze the Mongolian who forced his way to the inside with the left while grabbing an easy right outer grip, and he methodically drove Mitakeumi back and across from there. That was Mitakeumi's best shot in falling to 0-4 while Hoshoryu easily moves to 3-1 with the easy win.

With the dust settled among the Ozeki hopefuls, each now stands at 3-1. It's easy to see from the sumo content that Hoshoryu is head and shoulders above the other two, but sumo doesn't need another Mongolian Ozeki.

In the day's final bout, Ozeki Kirishima made his return to take on Komusubi Kotonowaka. I'm sure everyone was as concerned as I was about that rib cage contusion, but rest assured, it didn't affect the Ozeki's sumo today (whew). Kotonowaka actually came with a decent kachi-age tachi-ai with both arms, but they didn't make enough impact to keep Kirishima away from the inside, and so the Ozeki easily got moro-zashi and forced Baby Waka back and across leading with the right inside. Easy peasy as Kirishima picks up his first win at 1-3 while Kotonowaka falls to 2-2.

And that's a wrap on Day 4. I'll be around the rest of the week, and I'm sure by Day 8 we'll know where this thing is headed.

Day 1 Comments (Mike Wesemann reporting)
This basho is going to be a tough one in terms of reporting. I'm going on a fly fishing jaunt for two days starting tomorrow, and then I'm on the road Monday through Friday in Week 2. If I can find pirated videos online, I may do some short commentary in Week 2, but like the banzuke this basho, things are going to be lean.

The biggest news in between basho was the promotion of Kiribayama to Ozeki. At the time of promotion, it was announced the would change his shikona (fighting name) to Kirishima, the same name his oyakata fought as an Ozeki. Kirishima (the old oyakata guy) was a very good looking rikishi and popular among the fans, so it's a smart move to give Kiribayama the new name of Kirishima to attract extra attention.

Across the aisle, the basho suffered its first withdrawal about a week before the festivities when the Takakeisho camp announced that the faux-zeki would withdraw due to meniscus strains in both knees. Nobody's even going to notice that Takakeisho is gone, and it will be nice not to have that clown show the last 15 minutes of each day.

The only problem with Takakeisho's withdrawal is that Kirishima got his first lesson in lowering the bar and covering for the Japanese Ozeki, so what do you know, but Kirishima announced his own withdrawal the day before the basho started citing a contusion in his right rib cage. Anytime you see the word "contusion" associated with a kyujo, you know it's fake. To be fair, nobody is going to miss Kirishima either, but it does take a legitimate Ozeki off the board so the fans aren't reminded on a daily basis of how an Ozeki really fights.

The Mongolians have been running interference to cover for the fake Japanese elite rikishi for years, so this withdrawal wasn't a surprise at all.

With the two ranked Ozeki out of the way, the focus now turns to three potential Ozeki candidates: Hoshoryu (21 wins coming in), Daieisho (22 wins), and Wakamotoharu (21) wins. Japan desperately needs an Ozeki on the banzuke who can at least pretend to look good, and so the probability is extremely high that either Daieisho or Wakamotoharu is going to get promoted after this basho. My money's on Wakamotoharu just because the dude is more marketable, but let's see how it plays out.

If all bouts were fought straight up in sumo, Hoshoryu would win 13 this basho; Daieisho would win 11; and Wakamotoharu would check in with four or five wins. A rikishi needs 33 wins over three basho to secure promotion, and I expect both Daieisho and Wakamotoharu to win in double digits. If one of them takes the yusho, they'll get promoted even if they finish with 32 wins over three basho. They kinda foreshadowed that in the booth today with Chiyotaikai. That political Ozeki was promoted with just 32 wins (the same as Kotoshogiku and Kisenosato) after he was gifted a yusho to push him over the top. It's happened before and it has to happen again soon. It just does.

My Day 1 broadcast actually began with analysis of all three Ozeki candidates, and Mainoumi, who sat in the mukou-joumen chair, suggested that a dude could get promoted even if he just scored 31 wins. I should clarify that statement a bit by adding, "If either Daieisho or Wakamotoharu finishes with 31 wins, they could still be considered for promotion." Talk about lowering the bar!

Regarding the three Ozeki candidates, all of them were involved in bouts that featured less than stellar sumo. Wakamotoharu drew M2 Mitakeumi and defeated the former faux-zeki in WMH's half of the dohyo. That means that Wakamotoharu did not blow is foe off of the starting lines but used a counter move at the edge. I thought the bout was legit, but I wanted to see Wakamotoharu kick his opponent's ass. A win is a win, however, and WMH is off to a nice 1-0 start.

Daieisho drew M2 Shodai, and that should have been easy pickings, but Daieisho didn't come out and exactly blister his hapless foe off of the starting lines. Instead, he hesitated in his tsuppari tachi-ai and allowed a bit of separation in the bout, which didn't look good. Shodai was too hapless to take advantage, and like the bout before, this was a legit win, but it wasn't Ozeki sumo as Daieisho also starts out 1-0.

As for Hoshoryu, he drew M1 Tobizaru, and this was a bout with zero continuity. Hoshoryu failed to really grab is foe and pull him in tight, and so the two monkeyed around a bit and both flew to the dohyo nearly at the same time, but Tobizaru did touch down first. Who knows what Hoshoryu was trying to do here, but the sumo was ugly as he too starts out 1-0.

I would be very surprised if Hoshoryu outdoes the two Japanese candidates this basho, but we'll see. The sumo from all three candidates was sloppy today, but what do you expect from a false banzuke?

Coming into the basho, it was no surprise that Wakanohana's first piece of propaganda in the media was the headline, "Former Ozeki Asanoyama is the key to the next Ozeki promotion" meaning that whoever the next Ozeki is, they're gonna have to go through M4 Asanoyama. Huh?? You mean, they're not going to have to prove themselves by beating Terunofuji, but they're going to have to upset Asanoyama? It makes no sense whatsoever in a sane world.

As for Asanoyama, his tachi-ai was wild against M3 Meisei, but he was able to use his size to move Meisei near the edge. He couldn't finish, however, and he gave Meisei moro-zashi, and Meisei was able to turn the tables and defeat Asanoyama abise-taoshi style in the ends. What an ugly bout this was, and Asanoyama's inability to perform true sumo was on display again here.

What sumo really needs moving forward is new blood. Takakeisho is already broken down and tired, so they need new names on the banzuke that can be hyped similarly to how Endoh was almost 10 years ago.

The rookie getting the most run so far is M17 Hakuohho, the artist formerly known as Ochiai. The day led off with Ochiai fighting fellow M17, Aoiyama, and Aoiyama kept his feet completely aligned from the tachi-ai, the cardinal sin in sumo...unless you're trying to lose. Ochiai..er..Hakuohho failed to take advantage, and so Aoiyama fired tepid tsuppari keeping his feet aligned for about five seconds, and then when it was apparent the rookie couldn't do anything, Aoiyama faked a pull, backed up to the edge, and exposed his insides to Hakuohho. Aoiyama was so mukiryoku here, Hakuohho was able to eventually push him into the front row, but he didn't make solid contact until both dudes had already stepped across the straw. What a fake bout this was to start off the basho.

Our next rookie was M14 Shonannoumi who drew M14 Daishoho, and Daishoho smothered the rookie from the tachi-ai forcing the bout to migi-yotsu and getting the stifling left outer grip. From there, Shonannoumi had no path to victory, but it was apparent that Daishoho wasn't trying to win, so after stalling for about 20 seconds, he just let his left outer go for no reason and stood upright, and from there, Shonannoumi was able to finally push his compromised foe back and across. As if.

The best rookie of the crop is M13 Gonoyama who drew M13 Kotoshoho, and Gonoyama looked better than his two predecessors, but Kotoshoho was still mukiryoku in this one allowing Gonoyama to execute a methodic oshi attack that saw KSH back up mostly of his own volition.

So just like that, all three rookies are gifted Day 1 wins, and I'm sure the gift sumo will continue.

During the first half bouts, I only counted two straight up fights: M12 Chiyoshoma's win over M11 Tsurugisho and M7 Tamawashi's dispatching of M8 Sadanoumi.

I suppose it's worth noting that Yokozuna Terunofuji easily dispatched Komusubi Abi in the day's final bout, and when you step back and analyze the day as a whole, it was a very poor day of sumo.

In the early Day 2 headlines, I'm reading now where it's possible Kirishima will return as early as Day 4. Yeah, give him an 0-4 head start or so just to nudge him along to a make-koshi so both he and Takakeisho can be kadoban for September.

The politics this basho is going to be heavy, so I'm kinda glad I don't have to watch it everyday.