Re: Tokyo Sumo Tournament - Day 1 (spoiler for some, and long!)

["Charles Finberg" <cfinberg@wco.com>]

Doreen-Simmons-oyakata wrote: 

>I am always careful in public to stick to the formal title. In the case
> of the English commentaries, what we say is likely to be imitated by the
> listeners, and it's always better for them to err on the side of
> politeness.
>  
This is bound to be about as successful with us as herding cats.

>sometimes the knockout format allows a man to
> win who would never get a real yusho. There is also interest in the fact
> that drawing for pairs means that stablemates can face each other.
> 
How can you be so pitilessly candid about an elimination match format, when
we're about to troop off to Vancouver?   In the 1992 San Jose, CA, basho,
the audience had no sentiment or concern that everyone wasn't going all out
all the time, even though some men fought four or five matches per day. 
Even when Konishiki took on the little boys in Hanes underwear, he was
fighting his hardest, right?  Also, the format allowed the highly popular
and charismatic Mainoumi to rise fairly close to the top (on Day 1, I
think), which thrilled everyone.  So, you have in mind only the Tokyo Fuji
event, and Vancouver will be highly meaningful, right?