9 posts tagged “futeno”
Day 4 begins in just a few minutes in Nagoya, but here's a quick update on the first 3 days...
The Yokozuna Challenge, Harumafuji's attempt to win a 2nd straight tournament and get promoted to Yokozuna, may have come to an abrupt end yesterday when he lost (in a very one-sided manner) to Kotoshogiku. He had looked good the first two days, but now he's already 1 match behind the leaders.
The leaders, of course, include Hakuho and Asashoryu. And, of course, Hakuho has looked completely dominant and unstoppable while Asashoryu has looked, well, a little shaky. In fact, Asashoryu nearly lost yesterday to Goeido in a frenzied scramble.
Also 3-0: Ozekis Koto'oshu and Kotomitsuki, who both have the potential for a rare killer tournament, so who knows, maybe one of them can compete for the championship.
Among non-contenders, the Georgian wrestler Kokkai, Mongolian Shotenro in his 3rd tournament in the majors, elevator wrestler (does well, gets promoted, then does terribly, gets demoted, then does it again) Homasho, and my personal favorite Futeno are all 3-0. I love Futeno because he's the most articulate Sumo wrestler by a mile (though, sadly, he hasn't done anything good enough recently to warrant an interview), but he gave me another reason to love him the other day when the camera caught him stopping to sign autographs for some kids on his way back to the locker room after a win. Smart and a good guy -- he's like a Kevin McHale / Mike Lowell combo in a 300-pound package. Go Futeno!
Kaio lost on day 1, but he's won 2 since, and that's put him alone in 3rd place for most wins ever in Sumo with 951. Which, even I have to admit, is pretty impressive. That's like 10 years of 15-win tournaments. Amazing for any 375-pound guy to last that long. (Now go away, please.)
In other completely useless Ozeki news, Chiyotaikai is 1-2 and looking worse than ever. I'll be shocked if he makes 8 wins this tournament.
Baruto may be back in form. He's 2-1 and has looked like he's got his strength back.
Among the rookies, Mokonami has not only done the best at 2-1, but he's also impressed me with his guts. He came out in his rookie tournament with the flashiest mawashi in the majors, a bright orange-red belt that has to draw trash talk in the locker room.
Finally, due to some bad luck, I'm off to a slow start in the Sumo pool at 1-2, even though I've picked reasonably well with 20 out of 30 right. I'll need to pick up the pace if I want to get 10 wins again and keep my streak alive.
Match of the Day today: Kaio vs. new Sekiwake Kakuryu
Yes, folks, it's almost time for the next Sumo tournament. It starts this Sunday in Nagoya. Here's what you need to know:
Harumafuji won in Tokyo in May, his first championship ever. If he could manage to win a 2nd straight tournament, he would probably be promoted to Yokozuna. He looked great in May, beating both Yokozunas, but I doubt he can do it again.
Hakuho has to be the favorite again. He tied Harumafuji last time and only lost in the playoff. He's been taking it very slow, pacing himself in his preparations for this tournament, and I'm sure he'll be ready by day 1.
Asashoryu will be back again, trying to hang on and compete with Hakuho. If he's healthy, he should have a chance.
All five Ozekis are back, and all five actually made winning records last tournament, so no one's even in danger of demotion. Safe to say, only Harumafuji has a chance to win it. The other four will be fighting for 9 wins.
Just below the Ozeki rank, there are two new Sekiwakes. Kisenosato almost made it into the playoff for the championship last tournament, so he got promoted back up to Sekiwake all the way from Maegashira #4. Kakuryu, the young Mongolian, got promoted to his highest rank yet after 9 wins last tournament.
Kotoshogiku was rewarded for his 10-win tournament, and finally made it back up to the top of the ranks (at Komusubi) for the first time since January of last year.
Other high-movers include the Russian Aran, at #1, his highest rank ever; Takamisakari, up to #4 from #12 last tournament; and Toyohibiki, up all the way to #2 from #12 last tournament.
Going the other direction? Some of my personal favorites. Baruto dropped from Sekiwake down to Maegashira #3 after his tough 4-11 tournament; and Futeno, down near the bottom at #13, after a 6-9 record.
For the first time since last July, there are 3 rookies making their first tournaments in the big leagues. Most impressive is Mokonami (cool name, isn't it?), who got promoted all the way up to Maegashira #7 after an 11-4 tournament at the top of the minors. That's the highest jump into the majors since 1999. Mokonami is yet another Mongolian wrestler, but not quite the whiz at Sumo most Mongolians seem to be. He took the 2nd longest of any foreigner to make it up to the majors.
Also arriving in the top division are two Japanese wrestlers, 24-year old Tosayutaka and 25-year old Wakakoyu. They're both at the very bottom of the Maegashira ranks, so they need winning records to stay up in the big leagues.
Finally, my alter-ego Kunitachi got bumped up from Makushita (the minor minor league) #57 to #47, after my 2nd straight 10-5 record in the Sumo pool. Still on pace to make the minors by next March!
9-1: Hakuho, Miyabiyama
8-2: Ama, Baruto
7-3: Kotomitsuki, Toyonoshima, Kisenosato, Kokkai, Takamisakari
6-4: Chiyotaikai, Aminishiki, Kotoshogiku
5-5: Bushuyama, Aran
4-6: Koto'oshu
2-8: Futeno
1-9: Goeido
Things have settled in at the Sumo tournament. Hakuho has won another 2 (now up to 9 in a row) and Miyabiyama has kept pace with 2 wins of his own (because he hasn't had to face anyone good).
Meanwhile, the other contenders have fallen away, all except for the two Sekiwakes, Ama and Baruto. Ama is up to 8-2 including a win over Ozeki Koto'oshu, and with 4 wins in his last 5, he'll get promoted to Ozeki himself. Baruto has the 2nd longest win streak now with 8 in a row, including wins over 2 Ozeki's (Koto'oshu and Chiyotaikai today) and he probably has the best chance outside of Hakuho of winning this tournament. All depends on tomorrow's matchup against the Yokozuna.
Takamisakari has kept rolling and is just 1 win away from a winning record and assurance that he'll stay in the major league next tournament.
The 2 rookies, Bushuyama and Aran, are stumbling along with even records and it looks like both of them will be staying in the majors for at least 1 more tournament. Unfortunately, I have to sadly take away Miyabiyama's honor of Worst Chest in Sumo and give it to Bushuyama. Not pretty.
I'm assuming my personal favorite Futeno is injured in some way, because he has been awful this tournament. He is also fighting tougher competition than he's used to, as well, and it's added up to a 2-8 record so far, and a guaranteed demotion for next tournament. Sigh.
Meanwhile in the Juryo division, Shotenro tied a rookie record by winning his first 9 matches, but sadly couldn't beat the record. He lost today to former major-leaguer Iwakiyama and now they are tied at the top of the minor league.
And the HUGE match of the day tomorrow is the last match of the day: Hakuho (9-1) vs. Baruto (8-2). Baruto hasn't ever won in 5 previous match-ups with the Yokozuna, but I have a feeling this might be the first. Baruto's been looking very strong.
Looks like 1 of the 2 questions of this tournament has been answered, while the other is only slightly up in the air.
Wannabe Ozeki candidate Ama looked good for 2 days, then shockingly dropped 2 matches in a row to Kisenosato and Goeido, leaving him at 2-2 and all but out of contention for that Ozeki promotion. He can definitely still get it if he goes 10-1 or 11-0 the rest of the way, but with matches against Hakuho and all the Ozeki's still left, it doesn't seem too likely. His only hope is to hang on for enough wins to give him a chance to win promotion after January's tournament.
Meanwhile, prohibitive tournament favorite Hakuho threw everything up in the air (literally -- see picture) by losing on day 1 to Aminishiki. He's righted the ship with 3 straight wins now, but today's win against Wakanosato was a contested victory in which both wrestlers went flying out of the ring at the same time. The ref called it for Hakuho, the judges convened to discuss it, and decided not to change the ref's call. Seemed like the right call, but obviously not a dominant win for Hakuho, so maybe he won't win it easily after all.
The current leaders at 4-0 are all low-ranked wrestlers, who've been demoted below their personal highs: Dejima, Miyabiyama, and Tokitenku. Miyabiyama, who outweighs almost everyone and has the worst chest in Sumo, could compete til the last few days, but the others won't.
The best performances have been by Aminishiki, who beat Hakuho and followed that with 2 wins over Ozeki's, and Toyonoshima and Wakanosato, who both beat 3 Ozeki's but lost to Hakuho.
Clearly, the Ozeki's are not having a good tournament. Kaio went 1-2, then dropped out of the tournament after pulling his triceps or something. He was already hobbled by a bad leg, so it just saved him a lot of humiliation. He still doesn't seem to realize he's too old to Sumo wrestler and muscles will continue to pop at random times on him -- he says he'll rest for 4 weeks, then start training for January's tournament. Chiyotaikai is 2-2 and Koto'oshu is 1-3, and only Kotomitsuki is showing anything, with a 3-1 record.
Baruto dropped his first 2 matches at Sekiwake, but has won 2 in a row now to even his record. He still has all his Ozeki and Yozokuna matches to come.
Futeno is choking big time at his high ranking, with an 0-4 record vs. the Sumo world's best.
The rookies, both the veteran Bushuyama and the Russian phenom Aran, are suffering in the big leagues at 1-3.
Takamisakari, fighting at the very bottom of the major leagues, is looking good at 3-1, and should get enough wins to stay in the majors.
In the minors, 26-year old Mongolian rookie Shotenro is among the leaders at 4-0. And rookie Yotsuguruma (4 Cars), at 3-1, was asked about his name in an interview, but the answer was very boring. He got it from some ancient Sumo wrestler, and it has nothing to do with how many vehicles are in his garage.
Match of the day tomorrow: Kotomitsuki (3-1) vs. Toyonoshima (3-1), who has already beaten all 3 of the other Ozeki's.
That's right. Time to quickly switch from presidential election mode, to Sumo tournament mode. The year-end Kyushu tournament starts tomorrow.
There aren't a whole lot of interesting storylines to this tournament. Asashoryu is skipping the tournament with an injury, that they're saying now may even keep him out of January's tournament, so I expect Hakuho will win his 3rd straight. He's already wrapped up the most match wins for the year, so there's no excitement there.
Really, the only excitement of the tournament should be Ama's run at an Ozeki promotion. 10 wins or more this tournament should be enough for him to get promoted, and I expect him to be able to do that pretty easily. He's already approaching Kotomitsuki's records for longest time at Sekiwake and in the top 3 ranks without being promoted, so it's his time, I think. He's gone 12-3 and 10-5 in the last 2 tournaments.
All the Ozeki's should be back, and (shockingly) for the 2nd straight tournament, none of them is facing demotion due to a bad tournament last time out. Kaio hurt himself in practice before the tournament, but seems well enough to compete.
Baruto got promoted to Sekiwake (Ama's rank, 3rd highest in Sumo) -- his highest ever. He just barely eked out an 8-7 last tournament. Should be interesting to see if he can put together something a little stronger and maybe get double digit wins this time.
Goeido got promoted to Komusubi, the rank just below Sekiwake, (his highest ever), which gives him the official title of Great Japanese Hope. Another Japanese wrestler of interest is Futeno, who was promoted to Maegashira #1 (just below Goeido) after an 11-4 tournament in September.
There are 2 rookies this tournament from opposite sides of the age scale. First is Bushuyama, who, at 32 years 5 months, is the 4th oldest rookie Sumo wrestler ever. Nice story, but I don't give him much chance to move up the ranks.
On the other end is Aran, a 24-year old Russian wrestler, who has made one of the fastest rises up the ranks in Sumo history. He tied Koto'oshu for fewest tournaments to reach the top level, 1 tournament faster than Asashoryu, Baruto, and Konishiki, among others. He spent only 2 tournaments in the Juryo minor leagues, and he hasn't had a single losing record in his career. If he stays away from marijuana, he may have a bright future in Sumo.
Yawn. Another tournament ends with another Hakuho celebration. Hakuho actually won the tournament on day 14, when Ama and Kotomitsuki both lost and he beat Koto'oshu in a tough match. He then beat Kotomitsuki on the last day to finish 14-1. Hakuho won his 8th championship. He also locked up the most wins of the year already, with 65 wins in his first 75 matches this year. (Ama is 2nd with 47 wins, so even if he goes 15-0 in November, he can't catch Hakuho.) It seems like we've gone from Sumo being completely dominated by Asashoryu to now being completely dominated by Hakuho.
Ama finished this tournament as the runner-up at 12-3 and won the Outstanding Performance Award for beating all 4 Ozeki's and Yokozuna Asashoryu. Looks like it wasn't enough to get promoted to Ozeki this time, but he probably only needs 10 wins in November to get a promotion. Very impressive, considering at 284 pounds, he's one of the smallest wrestlers in the pro's.
The 4 Ozeki's miraculously all finished with winning records for a 2nd straight tournament. Kotomitsuki did the best at 11-4, while Kaio and Chiyotaikai had decent (for them) records of 9-6. Koto'oshu barely escaped with a winning 8-7 record after beating Chiyotaikai on the last day.
Baruto, just as I expected, did a lot better after he had finished with the tough part of his schedule. He stumbled to a 2-7 opening, but then reeled off 6 straight wins to eke out a winning record at 8-7. With Toyonoshima giving a weak 6-9 performance in his first tournament as Sekiwake, look for Baruto to replace him and join Ama at Sekiwake in November.
Goeido won the Fighting Spirit prize after being in the race for the tournament for a long time, then ending up with a 10-5 record. Look for him to move up to Baruto's Komusubi rank, which would be Goeido's first tournament in the top ranks.
Futeno finished 11-4 and got a little bit screwed by not being given an award for his tournament. He was considered for the Technique Prize, but fell short in voting, and the decided not to give a Technique Prize out this tournament. Even worse, there was a special news report at the moment Futeno won his 8th match of the tournament, and so I didn't get to hear the Kevin McHale of Sumo interviewed for getting his winning record. Maybe next tournament, when he moves much higher up the rankings, he'll beat an Ozeki or a Yokozuna and get interviewed for that.
The ever-popular Takamisakari finished 6-9 ranked at Maegashira #11, only 5 ranks higher than the minor leagues, so he will be on the edge of demotion to the minors for next tournament. Could depend on how many of the minor leaguers they decide to promote to the majors.
In the minor leagues, Yamamotoyama, the 550-pounder, faded at the end (probably not used to moving all that weight for so many days -- below his division, the wrestlers only fight 7 matches per tournament) to finish 9-6. Meanwhile, 24-year old Russian wrestler Aran won the tournament at 12-3 in just his 2nd tournament in the top minor league division. If he can stay away from the wacky weed (a real temptation for those Russians, as we know), he should be able to take his place as the hairiest wrestler in the majors in November.
And in the double-A division, Makushita, the tournament winner at 7-0 was a guy named Yotsuguruma, whose name, if I'm reading it correctly, means "4 Cars". I hope he likes his name more than Arthur "2 Sheds" Jackson did. Incidentally, a search reveals multiple bands called 2 Sheds Jackson. How great is that?
And for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, here is the clip...
As the Sumo tournament passed into its second half, things continued as they had been all along.
Asashoryu went up against Sekiwake Ama in the 2nd to last match of the day today. He got a good grip on him pretty early, then battled to get him out. He pushed him all the way to the edge of the ring but couldn't force him out. A little more struggle, and finally Asashoryu was able to win with a strong overhand throw. Not easy, but he got his 8th win.
Then Hakuho stepped up and dispatched Wakanosato with another strong throw (this time without even gripping the belt) in about 2 seconds. Total domination. He even said after that he hadn't wanted to throw his opponent, since Asashoryu had just won that way. Getting a little cocky, maybe?
So, Hakuho still leads the tournament, with Asashoryu and 33-yr. old veteran Kyokutenho following at 8-1.
Meanwhile, today was the first day this tournament that all the Yokozunas and Ozeki's won. Kaio is actually looking decent this time, and up to 6-3, same as Koto'oshu, while Kotomitsuki stopped a 3-match losing streak.
Kotoshogiku was having a great tournament, but had to drop out after he injured his knee and ankle in his loss to Hakuho yesterday.
Two of my guys, Futeno and Asasekiryu, keep winning. Both are just 2 back at 7-2.
Tochiozan, who looked like he was going to be great when he came up last year, is coming back into form at the bottom of the rankings. He's up to 6-3. So is Georgian wrestler and champion beard-grower Kokkai.
Meanwhile, in the low minor leagues (Makushita division), one wrestler named Tosayutaka just won his 30th straight match. He's 5-0 this tournament, and one more win (they only fight 7 matches per tournament in the low minors) should earn him a promotion to the Juryo division for next tournament.
9-0: Hakuho
8-1: Asashoryu, Kyokutenho
7-2: Asasekiryu, Futeno
6-3: Kaio, Koto'oshu, Kisenosato, Kokkai, Tochiozan
5-4: Ama, Ichihara
4-5: Kotomitsuki, Baruto, Takamisakari
Match of the day tomorrow: 9-0 Yokozuna Hakuho vs. 5-4 Sekiwake Ama
Hakuho keeps rolling with super-strong throws of opponent after opponent.
One step behind is Asashoryu, who escaped another dangerous situation today. He was quickly pushed back toward the edge of the ring, but at the last minute managed to hook an arm around Dejima and swing him to the side and out. The talk is all about how Asashoryu doesn't look that good, but he's managed to win 5 in a row now and stays just one behind the leader. (There is also a lot of talk about how few sponsors are paying prize money for Asashoryu's matches this tournament. He's only won about half the prize money of Hakuho so far, much lower than he used to make. Fallout from his suspension, I suppose.)
Also one back are Komusubi Kotoshogiku and lower-ranked Takekaze and Kyokutenho.
It was another tough day for the Ozeki's, as Kaio (4-3) was the only one to win his match. Kotomitsuki dropped to 3-4 and Koto'oshu dropped to 4-3. Meanwhile, Chiyotaikai lost his 7th straight, falling to the worst start ever for an Ozeki, and finally decided to drop out of the tournament as of tomorrow.
New top-ranker Ichihara won today to get up to 5-2. He weighs 400 pounds so he gets his share of easy wins, but I'm not convinced yet that he's got skill to go with it. We shall see, if he keeps winning and earns some matches against top wrestlers.
In "Josh's favorites" news, little Asasekiryu is looking good again at 5-2, big Baruto won his 4th in 5 days to go to 4-3, and the Kevin McHale of Sumo, Futeno, lost to drop to a still strong 5-2.
7-0: Hakuho
6-1: Asashoryu, Kotoshogiku, Takekaze, Kyokutenho
5-2: Aminishiki, Kisenosato, Asasekiryu, Futeno, Ichihara
4-3: Kaio, Koto'oshu, Ama, Baruto
3-4: Kotomitsuki, Takamisakari
0-7: Chiyotaikai
Match of the day tomorrow: 7-0 Hakuho vs. 6-1 Kotoshogiku
After 6 days, as expected, Asashoryu and Hakuho are sharing the lead. They are both undefeated and looking pretty much unbeatable. Neither has been in any danger of losing at any time.
Slightly less expected is the fact that Kaio and Chiyotaikai have been equally dominating in also compiling 6-0 records. Kaio has moved himself up to 11th all-time in matches won, and could get as high as #7 or #8 by the end of this tournament. Chiyotaikai is only 2 wins away from assuring he'll stay at Ozeki for the next tournament.
But that's not all -- 3 more wrestlers are also 6-0, including 2 of my favorites. The Kevin McHale of Sumo, Futeno, is making a big comeback. And another cagy little Mongolian, Asasekiryu, joins countrymen Asashoryu and Hakuho at 6-0. The 3rd is former Ozeki Dejima.
Meanwhile, Koto'oshu and Kotomitsuki stay in the race at 5-1, Takamisakari is having a strong tournament at 4-2, and youngster Tochiazuma, alas, seems overmatched at 2-4.
Oh yeah, and Baruto continues to destroy the competition in the minor leagues. He's 6-0 in Juryo.
