These daily recaps do such a good job building narrative momentum across the tournament - watching Fujinokawa slowly amass wins at his highest ranking feels way more dramtic when you're tracking it day-by-day rather than seeing final results. The way you break down technical adjustments like Hakunofuji denying Kotozakura's prefered grip really helps casual fans understand what seperates a winning strategy from just raw power. I dunno if sumo journalism has always been this accessable but its definitely making the tournament easier to follow for newcomers.
Something is off with Onosato, could be his shoulder or maybe he just can't get out of his own head, but he isn't showing the inevitability he usually does. Almost looks vulnerable. Gonna be interesting to see how this goes for him.
In early stages of a tournament, sometimes I find it bizarrely interesting to look for the worst records, as well as the best records. There are a surprising number of people who opened this basho at 0-5, particularly Wakamotoharu and Ura. (Sad that Takanosho is there too, but he is more one-dimensional so I figure he gets found out at the higher ranks.)
These daily recaps do such a good job building narrative momentum across the tournament - watching Fujinokawa slowly amass wins at his highest ranking feels way more dramtic when you're tracking it day-by-day rather than seeing final results. The way you break down technical adjustments like Hakunofuji denying Kotozakura's prefered grip really helps casual fans understand what seperates a winning strategy from just raw power. I dunno if sumo journalism has always been this accessable but its definitely making the tournament easier to follow for newcomers.
Something is off with Onosato, could be his shoulder or maybe he just can't get out of his own head, but he isn't showing the inevitability he usually does. Almost looks vulnerable. Gonna be interesting to see how this goes for him.
So glad to see Kayo looking nimble again!
In early stages of a tournament, sometimes I find it bizarrely interesting to look for the worst records, as well as the best records. There are a surprising number of people who opened this basho at 0-5, particularly Wakamotoharu and Ura. (Sad that Takanosho is there too, but he is more one-dimensional so I figure he gets found out at the higher ranks.)