14 Comments
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Dan Bieranowski's avatar

Looking at the pre fight for Hosh and Onosato and it looks like Hosh was in his head.

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Tim Bissell's avatar

That Hoshoryu staredown is a powerful weapon. I can't wait to see how Onosato responds in their next bout.

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Loren's avatar

What a basho! I had that “big fight” feel getting ready for Hoshoryu and Onosato and it did not disappoint!

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Loren's avatar

I completely agree. I really felt for Onosato there but it was also amazing to have Hoshoryu be the one to deny him. Drama!

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Tim Bissell's avatar

Hey Loren, good to see you! What a wonderful note to end things on this month, eh? That win from Hoshoryu build so much anticipation for the next basho. I don't think we'd have that if Onosato beat him with ease.

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Hengtee Lim's avatar

I really hope we're seeing the makings of a storied rivalry between Hoshoryu and Onosato.

Kusano looking desperate for a challenge. Was surprised by Wakaikari in juryo too. He's like a pitbull off the mark, and I'm curious to see how far his all-out aggression gets him.

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Tim Bissell's avatar

Kusano is such an exciting prospect. Shades of Takerufuji, which makes sense given they are stablemates. I'm very eager to see how he performs in makuuchi. He feels like a wrestler who will do well with the M16-17 rank. The jury is out, for me anyway, on how he'll do after he gets ranked where we see Takerufuji is now.

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Elizabeth Oldham (she/her)'s avatar

I'm just getting to this post. What a basho! I cheered when Hoshoryu beat Onosato, even though I would have cheered if Onosato had won. I am looking forward to the two Yokozunas battling it out now. And wow, the rest of the basho was amazing, too. Aoinishiki, Kirishima, Wakatakagage, and even my fav Midorifuji redeemed himself somewhat. Love the coverage and the insights. Thanks!

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Tim Bissell's avatar

Thank you for reading and following it along with me/us. Lots of great performances this basho!

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Whoopdy Do's avatar

I was rooting for Horshoryu in this one, because who wants to see one guy dominate the sport? Going forward, though, I’ll be rooting for whichever one of them lost their previous matchup.

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Tim Bissell's avatar

Rooting for an epic rivalry, I like it!

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Nick Tallyn's avatar

The wife and I call Kayo "Butterball" due to the "shiny yellow mawashi and big beautiful belly." Glad someone else noticed.

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Tim Bissell's avatar

Nice! It's amazing how fun sumo is as a co-viewing activity, right? My wife doesn't really like sports, but she loves watch sumo with me. And she loves coming up with nicknames, too.

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Whoopdy Do's avatar

I'm going with "Tweety Bird" myself.

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