on any given Monday...

[poza@gol.com (Shari Custer-Poza and Tito Poza)]

In mid-Makushita, No. 36 Takamio lost his first bout today.  Earlier this
year Takamio, an Azumazeki Beya makushita veteran, won the Makushita yusho
to rise to Mak. 4, but was unable to hold the rank or advance, and has
drifted down to what you could call his natural level.  Former Juryo
rikishi Hoshiandesu, now at a humbling Mak. 32, won his first.  No. 15
Hoshitango lost; was pushed out surprisingly quickly and easily.  No. 9
Kyokugozan of Oshima Beya, a longtime Juryo rikishi recently demoted, was
the victim of a step-aside.  No. 5 Takamihana, who I mention because he
could soon be Azumazeki Beya's first Japanese sekitori, won his bout.

That reminds me, those of you who've had the opportunity to watch the sumo
in the past two years may remember Takamiwaka, the Azumazeki Beya Makushita
rikishi who usually did the yumitori-shiki at the end of each day's action.
Each tournament in the papers they list the rikishi who've retired or
given up sumo, and I saw his name there.  I guess he was one of the many
who decided he'd topped out at Makushita.

I haven't seen Mak. 3 Daishoyama play on either Day 1 or Day 2, so I assume
he's out for the basho again this time.  And since he didn't get the Public
Injury Rule last time, he won't this time, and so will fall to lower
Makushita on the January banzuke.  Wonder if he'll hang in there, or decide
he's too old (29) for a comeback.  Sentoryu, who must be in low Makushita,
also has not been seen for the first 2 days, but as he was injured on the
dohyo last time, should be able to keep what rank he has this time for
January.

Misugisato has apparently figured out that it's a good idea to get out of
Konishiki's way, which is what he did today.  Konish has almost no mobility
whatsoever, unfortunately, and Misugi just moved to the side (lumbered is
more like it; he's not exactly agile) and let Konish rumble on by and out,
helping him at the end.  Konish still has a 17-6 lifetime lead against
Misugisato, but Misugi has won their last 3 meetings.  One gets the feeling
this may constitute a new trend.

Seeing today's action saddens me in that it makes me feel that the end for
both Konishiki and Kirishima is not too far away.  Kirishima has looked,
well, I hate to say pathetic, but that's the word that leaps to mind, both
days.  He just looks weak.  6-9 and he's going to Juryo, and I fear he may
not be able to do that well.  Konish has more latitude, and some days he
looks impressive, but whether he wins or loses has become more a function
of what his opponent does than what he does, since he pretty much always
does the same thing.

Mainoumi bouts are always fun to watch, and today's against Kitakachidoki
was no exception.  Kita kept Mai away from the belt pretty well, and Mai
tried a throw without a good enough hold on anything, the result being that
he turned himself around, not Kita.  Kita got completely behind Mai, and
put both arms around Mai's torso.  He did hustle Mai out, but not without a
lot of wriggling and backwards pushing on Mainoumi's part.

Takanonami vs. Minatofuji:  Minatofuji got a pretty good tachiai and each
rikishi got a left inside grip, with Taka trying to lock Minatofuji's left
arm.  They struggled to the side, then back to the center, Taka giving up
the armlock and reaching for the belt.  Minatofuji tried a throw, then
another; Taka resisted well but was getting moved around a bit.  Minatofuji
pivoted for one big left-handed throw near the edge; Taka tried to move
into Minatofuji's body, but Minatofuji just kept trying, and Taka had
balanced on one leg as long as he could, and finally toppled over.  The 0-2
Takanonami faces Terao, never an easy customer, tomorrow.  We could be
looking at another kadoban ozeki in January...

Takanohana vs. Kenko:  At first it looked like a repeat of yesterday's
bout: Kenko didn't step aside, but Taka did plow forward and push, and
Kenko was pushed back but danced around Taka and got a left belt grip.
Kenko couldn't follow up on it well, though, as Taka made sure to get his
balance back quickly.  Taka's priority was then to keep Kenko from making
his grip any better, and kept him away from his body.  Kenko backed up and
moved around, trying to make something happen, but Taka followed him
carefully but quickly.  Taka then got a solid left hand on Kenko's belt,
and right then I knew it was over.  Kenko's side was a bit to Taka's front,
so Kenko had no position to do anything.  Taka took a second, improved his
grip even more, and finished off Kenko with his favorite, yori.

Akebono vs. Takatoriki:  This was one of those "if you blinked, you missed
it" bouts, and those are not usually good for Ake.  Ake came out thrusting,
but after the first thrust hit, Taka jumped aside quickly, and Ake was
caught lunging forward.  (Timing is everything; if Taka had jumped a
split-second sooner or later, he probably would've lost.)  Ake plunged
forward to the dohyo; Taka rushed over to assist, but Ake was down by the
time he got there.  Then, one was able to see clearly the difference in
crowd reaction to the two yokozuna losing.  The crowd roared loudly and
enthusiastically; the zabutons flew, more quickly than yesterday, and more
of them (even though yesterday's bout was considerably more exciting, not
to mention more shocking and unexpected).  Takatoriki has become Akebono's
personal pain-in-the-ass, having won 4 of their last 8 bouts, a shocking
score between a yokozuna and a sometimes-sanyaku rikishi.

Well, this certainly does make things interesting.  Both yokozuna stand at
1-1, which gives the 2-0 Musashimaru and Wakanohana a greater-than-usual
chance at the yusho; they just have to avoid more than one upset in the
first 10 days or so.  Still too early to say anything, of course, but it
should make for an exciting yusho race.

---Tito