Re: Pre-basho sumo news

[Alex Ferguson <abf@cs.ucc.ie>]

Thierry PERRAN wrote:
> Last but not least, it seems that there is a conflict between the yokozuna
> council and NSK chairman about yokozuna promotion for Chiyotaikai in case of
> victory. For Kitanoumi, a yokozuna drive can't be launched from a 'poor'
> 12-3 yusho, and Kitanoumu said that even with a clean 15-0 zensho yusho,
> Chiyotaikai wouldn't be promoted.

OK, never let it be said that the NSK can't disprove the anti-gaijin
bias theory...  by introducting _absurdly_ conservative and restrictive
criteria for everyone.  Is there any precedent for not promoting someone
with a (hypothetical) record of 27-3 over two basho?  In this case,
there's hardly any logic to a 'long term record' or 'premature promotion'
argument either, given Chiyotaikai's three yusho to date.  Are things
perhaps a little skewed by the "lingering-but-non-retired yokozuna"
syndrome, still?

Maybe Kitanoumi and the Yokozuna Deliberation Committee are just doing
some sort of highly subtle(?) good cop, bad cop number on us, though.
e.g., the chairman keeps saying such ridiculous things as to create a
storm of protest sufficient to justify and rationalise some sort of
sensible codification of the promotion system by the committee.  (Hey,
we haven't had a good conspiracy theory for a while, after all.)

Cheers,
Alex.