Wakanohana to try gridiron - Mainichi Shimbun - 2001.05.18

[Jan de Veen <chijanofuji@planet.nl>]

Hi All, 

FYI, as a follow-up to to Joe Kuroda's post on Wakanohana trying out for the NFL, I
performed a little search on the web and I came across this article on the Mainichi
Interactive web site from May 18th, 2001.
It doesn't tell us any more than we already know, but it confirms the story...

--

  Wakanohana to try gridiron          2001.05.18

  Former Yokozuna Wakanohana announced Friday that
  his future lies well outside the boundary of the dohyo --
  on a gridiron with the U.S. National Football League
  (NFL).

  "I've been mulling the prospect for the past six months.
  It's going to be tough as I'm already 30 but this is a great
  challenge for me," Masaru Hanada -- better known under
  his sumo name of Wakanohana despite quitting the ring in
  spring 2000 -- told reporters as he returned from the
  United States Friday.

  The former yokozuna declined to name possible NFL
  teams he may join but said that he will train in Phoenix,
  Arizona, in the near future and shuttle across the Pacific.

  Hanada, the elder brother of Yokozuna Takanohana, has
  been working as television personality since he left a
  lucrative post within the Japan Sumo Association last
  December. (Mainichi Shimbun)

--

Greetings from a Sumo fan from the Netherlands,

Jan "Chijanofuji" de Veen

The Sumo Colosseum - http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/6136/