Haramafuji has "retired" after getting into a bar brawl, Hakuho has to be like -20000 to win, right?

A sumo thread???

I'll just go ahead and post a response in good faith imagining that is indeed a serious thread.

Very much most likely Hakuho yes or if he is VERY charitable, one way or the other, maybe a door could be open for comebacking Kakuryu or even Takayasu who so far, very early on, are looking better than expected, but most likely the best of the rest (not least at avoiding serious injury), below Hakuho, are too even right now to avoid beating each other more or less back and forth.

Mitakeumi has been my favorite for a big breakout score from the high ranks on the Banzuke for a while, but it hasn't quite happened yet, though he has looked sublime at times.

Went to the basho in Tokyo in September. Reeeeeally exceeded expectations. Was a great time.

I got addicted to sumo last year and was actually thinking of starting a sumo thread but I figured there'd be no interest in the great sport of moribldy obese men grappling with each other. I am glad to see there are other fans here.

For newbies, you can watch all the matches for free at NHK's website:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/sumo/

Also, there is an excellent podcast hosted by some hardcore sumo nerds:
https://grandsumobreakdown.wordpress.com/

There are some good storylines for 2018 you should know for the yokozuna wrestlers:

Kakuryu has been told be must do well in this tournament or he will be forced to retire.

In 2017, Kisenosato became the first Japanese-born wrestler in almost 20 years to achieve the highest rank of yokozuna. He is sort of the face for this tourney, but will probably not due well due to injuries.

Hakuho is just a beast. Enough said.

Also, there is HARUMAFUJIGATE: the scandal pvn mentioned in the OP in which yokozuna Harumafuji took a huge heel turn and smashed another wrestler in the face with a beer bottle. Bottle shots are simply not done in sumo; this is an enormous scandal in a sport that prides itself on decorum and respect, and Harumafuji has since retired.

Also, the top-ranked referee had to resign after a sexual assault scandal. So basically the #1 hope for 2018 is that the sport can avoid any more embarrassing scandals.

i'll give fat lads shoving each other a go

one thing tho, i think i read that half the results are pre-arranged. that right? not that its a deal-breaker - i happily watch new england patriots games - but i'd like to know what to expect ahead of time

Bit of an exaggeration, but match fixing is indeed an endemic problem with the game.

Is this on TV anywhere in USA #1? I used to love watching sumo reruns on ESPN, but I don't even see those anymore.

isn't hakuho the guy who performed some technically legal ***** maneuver that's considered highly dishonorable in one of the biggest tournaments? remember reading about it, any fallout?

Yeah, this was extensively covered in Freakonomics over a decade ago

Was always the sort of thing that looked like it was cool to go and watch whenever it was on Eurosport and the next best thing on our other 300 channels was repeats of Quincy

idk about TV, but you can stream all of the matches on NHK's website:

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/sumo/

Kintamayama who is a prominent sumo enthusiast also has a channel where he does a neat daily package of all the bouts each day in the top division:

https://www.youtube.com/user/Kintamayama/videos

This frequently updated thread on a SUMO FORUM has other solutions also:

http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/topi...2018-days-1-3/

While this thread summarizes different ways to watch live which is a whole other thing than the short bouts themselves:

http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/topi...ming-hatsu-18/

You drunk at 4:30?

Yes that's how I started out in the late 90s and unbelievably I've stuck with it ever since following every tournament for what must be close to 20 years now .

My interest has varied though with many ups and downs and I don't really follow much in between tournaments anymore.

I've also become extremely disillusioned with injuries ruining one promising career after another.

Especially after a change in rules where if you're absent for any tournament you lose ranking and ranking in sumo dictates everything everyday 24/7 your entire (brutal basically unchanged in centuries) way of life.

Needed surgery following serious injury is often unbelievably skipped altogether or if sometimes undergone, recovery time is ignored almost completely, resulting in, in my eyes too often, too many poor quality bouts because you have a number of clearly seriously injured rikishi competing. The "product" so to speak, if bouts are your main focus when it comes to sumo, could be a lot better, but of course sumo is a whole lot more and arguably not even a sport, not to mention a mere "product". I like sport the best though!


I always meant to go one day and I still should! One day.

After some down years post 2010 especially I guess, with foreign wrestlers really dominating (which they've also done since in many ways), it has become really popular again in recent years and is sold out a lot of the time.

Bring back Konishiki...

I've watched the first two days, obviously it's early, but Goeido could be on the verge of finally getting over the hump and taking another one down. For some reason I don't want to like the guy, but he seems like the type that is just works insanely hard at his craft so even if I'm not pulling for him I can respect him. Plus he's been in good shape whereas Kakuryu, Kisenosato, and Takayasu have all had significant injuries recently.

Kisenosato just looks like he's lost a step; guy needs more time to get over his injury.

Hakuho out with a toe injury, only Yokozuna left is Kakuryu, who's looking okay so far.

Tochinoshin looking very good, this could be a breakout opportunity for him.

(Spoilers)

Was there on Thursday (Day 12). I've been to my share of basho but I can't remember the crowd ever getting behind a foreign-born rikishi like they did Tochinoshin on that day.

And when Endo upset Kakuryu during the closing match and flipped the script on the entire tourney, the entire place erupted into a hailstorm of cushions. Mine nearly pelted Endo right in the nose.

Very happy for the victor as he has had to fight his way back all the way from the lower ranks after undergoing major knee surgery.

I was traveling last week and just now got caught up, what a great performance, some epic meltdowns by a couple of contenders in there.

Now that Hakuho has the all-time win record, maybe he'll ease off the gas a bit. I do enjoy watching him dominate but the tournaments are overall more interesting when there are more people in the mix.

Agree completely. Hakuho has stated that he intends to keep competing until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (as the active Yokozuna will take part in the opening ceremony), but he is clearly becoming more affected by injuries at a more frequent rate than earlier in his career, when he was indomitable.

This, combined with a fresh influx of young talent with lots of potential (Takakeisho, Onosho, and Mitakeumi just to name three), leads me to believe that there should be a greater variety of rikishi in the mix for victory at future tournaments.