Re: Sumo on ESPN

[Ohmono <dstrother@pop.dn.net>]

sten1@ix.netcom.com wrote:

> I have to make a decision on what cable package to get, and I would like
> to know how much sumo gets shown on ESPN or ESPN2.  I have to decide if it's
> worth the extra money.  Can anyone out there with knowledge of this let me
> know how much sumo programming there is on either of these two stations?

To my knowledge, this is the FIRST sumo coverage that either of them
have had, so I certainly wouldn't spend money on either one just to get
sumo.  If "Dateline Japan" ever comes back to a non-NPR-affiliated
public TV station near you (here in the DC area it is WNVC, channel 56),
then the few minutes at the end of each evening's show in which the best
three bouts...or sometimes four...are shown would be worth it.  The
Monday show  after the first week is a little frustrating, since the 3/4
best matchups from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are all that are shown.

Another possibility is to move to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where NHK is
carried live, 24 hours a day, on the local cable.  My kid in college can
see the whole thing!  ....but not here in the capitol of the free world!

As for ESPN, the kid they had narrating was a bit trying, particularly
in mangling the rikishi's names ("Musashimaro") and referring to the
rikishi as "sumo".  Just before the Takanohana-Musashimaru "playoff"
they showed a picture of Takanonami in place of Takanohana.

That being said, it was still a step in the right direction, for which
we ought to send in those cards and letters, thanking ESPN and asking
for more.  Two summers ago there was a programmer from ESPN2 on the
windjammer we sailed on, and she confirmed that what they show is what
the multitudes are asking for.....so sing out, folks!

Hakke yoi!