<DATE> Contents

SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo
Chris Gould
Chris sinks his teeth deeper into how sumo can go about pulling in the younger fans in part two of a three-part series.
Azumazeki up close and personal
Steven Pascal-Joiner / William Titus
A wiz with a pen and a wiz with a lens get together with SFM to share their time with Azumazeki Oyakata - Takamiyama as was - with the wider sumo following world.
Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
Joe Kuroda takes a detailed look at the life and times of a former yokozuna forgotten by many - Maedayama.
Eric Evaluates
Eric Blair
Eric calls the musubi-no-ichiban kimarite call on nakabi in Kyushu as perhaps only he could.
Heya Peek
Jeff Kennel
First time heya visitor Jeff Kennel wrote about, photographed and even made a video of his time spent at Arashio Beya prior to the Kyushu Basho. All to be found within.
SFM Interview
Mark Buckton
Mark interviews Russian up and comer Wakanoho of Magaki Beya.
Photo Bonanzas
See behind the scenes at the Kyushu Basho, morning training in Arashio Beya through the eyes of an artist and exactly what the Azumazeki lads had to eat halfway though the July Nagoya Basho. All originals, all seen here and nowhere else, and all for you.
Kyushu Basho Summary
Lon Howard
Lon wraps the Kyushu Basho in Fukuoka and throws in some henka sighting results for good measure.
Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
The lower divisions, their members and results get the once over thanks to Mikko's eyeing of life down below the salaried ranks.
Hatsu Ones To Watch
Carolyn Todd
Carolyn ponders and puts fingers to keys on the ones to watch come January and the Hatsu Basho.
Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Mikko's latest clarification of a handful of sumo's kimarite offers unequalled analysis and in depth explanations.
Amateur Angles
Howard Gilbert
Howard looks at makushita tsukedashi and what it means in real terms.
Kokugi Konnections
Todd Lambert
Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best sumo sites online.
Fan Debate
Facilitators - Lon Howard / Carolyn Todd
Two SFMers talk over the yokozuna benefiting from weak opposition - or not as the case may be.
SFM Cartoons
Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and sample Stephen's artistic offerings.
Sumo Odds ’n’ Ends
SFM's interactive elements including Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke!
Lets Hear From You
What was it that made you a sumo fan? Starting with issue #10, the SFM staff will reveal a little of their own routes into sumo fandom - starting with Benny Loh.
Readers' Letters
See what our readers had to say since we last hit your screens.
Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.
  with Asashoryu, I couldn’t help but echo the sentiments of the English language announcers on the NHK telecast on senshuraku.  “What a shame,” they said that Tochiazuma re-injured his ailing left knee on day 10 against Dejima.  They were right of course, because he was otherwise in good fighting shape and with only one loss going into that day, had a good chance of keeping pace with Asashoryu with a chance at forcing a playoff when they finally met.   Chiyotaikai also injured his right elbow during the basho, and one would probably guess that Kaio’s chronic back ailment worsened as the basho wore on.  I would also include ozeki Kotooshu in the “What a shame!” parade.  The pundits say he’s recovered from the severe knee injury suffered at the beginning of the year, but I just can’t buy into that because he continues to wear the knee brace and his torikumi isn’t nearly as aggressive as before.  At the end of the basho he said that his goal for 2007 was not to get injured again…hardly the mindset of someone who feels he can go all out.  Somehow, I still feel that he could be a respectable yokozuna (uh huh, not ozeki) if he can set his injury aside.


Tochiazuma

But injuries are a big part of sumo, so let’s just deal with the outcome, which is that Asashoryu will begin
the New Year gunning for his 20th yusho with no viable challenger.  The conspicuous ozeki highlight in Kyushu was the home-turf favorite Kaio leaping out to an 8-0 start, thereby clearing kadoban for the 10th time, an auspicious feat in itself.  The many pundits who have been snipping at his mage will once again have to wait, as Kaio’s intai will happen when it happens.  But his own fast start, like those by Chiyotaikai and Tochiazuma, faded in the basho’s second half and they all plodded home, Kaio and Tochiazuma to 10-5 and Chiyotaikai to 9-6.  Kotooshu’s five losses were scattered evenly throughout the basho, and perhaps more telling is the fact that he was the only ozeki to defeat the other three.

Almost every basho, there is at least one breakout performance by a hiramaku rikishi, and this time it came from Homasho, who claimed


Homasho
 
the jun-yusho with an absorbing 12-3 showing.  He also took home the kanto-sho fighting spirit prize, as well as the gino-sho technique prize, which he shared with M2 Kotoshogiku.  It seems that Shikoroyama Oyakata might have gotten through with a message that his aspiring sanyaku hope needed to
mix some early offense with his dogged perseverance.  He did some of that this time and the results speak for themselves.  It also made many of his bouts shorter, which will improve his endurance as he advances up the ladder.  Don’t look for another leap in January though, as he’s not overpowering enough to handle the big boys on his first try.  He’s definitely a comer, though.


Kotomitsuki gave us what he did last time, when he also bolted to a fast start, but once again fizzled down the stretch, losing six of his final eight matches.  Of those ranked above him, he was only able to defeat Tochiazuma, this occurring after the ozeki had re-injured his knee.  During his fast fade, he lost to Asashoryu for a staggering 23rd consecutive time.  On the bright side, he halted a six-basho 8-7 run by blowing out shin-komusubi Roho on senshuraku to post his 9-6 mark.  It was rumored that the other sekiwake, Miyabiyama, might gain his ozeki rank back with 13 wins this time, but he himself said before the basho that he was not in good shape, and then authenticated his prophecy by scratching out 8-7 to barely save his rank.

Had Miyabiyama slipped down, that sekiwake spot would probably have gone to Kisenosato, who is now pitching a semi-permanent tent at komusubi, having posted three straight 8-7 records there, and four straight 8-7s overall.  The young oft-touted ozeki hopeful had to conquer Kaio and M4 Kakizoe on the last two days to stay at sanyaku, but now remains poised to displace either Kotomitsuki or Miyabiyama, should they falter.  Of the other three komusubi, only Roho managed to retain his rank, registering an 8-7 that some would say deserved an asterisk due to the five wins achieved via the
 
Next