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SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo |
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Chris Gould
Wrapping up his look at increasing the popularity of sumo, Chris Gould caps a series the NSK would do well to refer to.
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Sumo Souvenirs |
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Mark Buckton
Souvenirs are a part of every sport and sumo is no different - or is
it? A look at collectibles and the downright trashy, the bona fide
versus the unproven.
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Rikishi of Old |
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Joe Kuroda
Joe Kuroda's latest look at times past focuses on former makunouchi man Dewagatake.
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Eric Evaluates |
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Eric Blair
Eric takes a no-nonsense look at the claims of fixed bouts in the Japanese media.
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Rikishi Diary |
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Mark Kent
Mark Kent - English pro-wrestler and amateur heavyweight sumotori -
takes us through the first month or so of his training and preparation
for the various European events lined up in in 2007.
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Heya Peek |
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Chris Gould
SFM's Chris Gould was in Japan for the Hatsu Basho and popped along to
the new Shikoroyama Beya to give SFM an online exclusive peek into
sumo's newest heya.
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SFM Interview |
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Mark Buckton
Mark interviews Mark - Buckton on Kent that is as Mark Kent, the UK's
only active heavyweight amateur answers a few questions on his own
recent entry into the sport.
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Photo Bonanzas |
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Sumo Forum stepped in to take the weight off the shoulders of SFM as
far as Hatsu went so we could sit back, relax, enjoy the sumo and take
a few more select pics you won't see anywhere else.
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Hatsu Basho Summary |
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Lon Howard
Lon wraps the Hatsu Basho and chucks in a few bits on the rush of henka
that threatens to sully the good name of at least one foreign ozeki.
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Sumo Menko |
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Ryan Laughton
Sumo cards of old brought to life by expert collector Ryan Laughton. None of your BBM here.
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Haru Ones To Watch |
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Carolyn Todd
Carolyn ponders and puts fingers to keys on the ones to watch come March and the Haru Basho.
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Kimarite Focus |
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Mikko Mattila
Mikko's latest look at sumo's kimarite offers unequalled analysis and in depth explanations.
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Amateur Angles |
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Howard Gilbert
Howard looks at the 'sumo factory' of lore - Nichidai.
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Kokugi Konnections |
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Todd Lambert
Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best the WWW has to offer.
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Fan Debate |
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Facilitator - Carolyn Todd
Moti Dichne comes back for more and takes on Bradley Sutton on the subject of 'Modernize the heya - yea or nay?'
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SFM Cartoons |
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Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson
In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and sample Benny's artistic offerings.
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Sumo Odds & Ends |
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SFM's interactive elements - as always includes Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke!
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Let's Hear From You |
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What was it that made you a sumo fan? Ryan Laughton - sumo fan and menko expert reveals all.
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Readers' Letters |
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See what our readers had to say since we last hit your screens.
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Sumo Quiz |
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The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself a genuine banzuke.
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EI
of 10.29 x 1.33 LF = 13.69 LAEI. And for Itai it’s 9.31 x 1.53 =
14.24. So on the longevity-adjusted elevator list, the two men
swap places, and Itai is numero uno.
Does it really matter which list is ‘official?’ Well, if we were
doling out barrels full of shiitake mushrooms to the champ, I guess it
would matter. But since we’re just offering food for thought to
you and yours, I’ll include both versions and allow readers to see the
results in whatever context is most meaningful to them. There are
probably several more prisms through which to survey the elevator guys,
and maybe later on we’ll look at some more.
Here is the all-time top 20 list, adjusted for longevity:
Most of the people on the regular list are also on the
longevity-adjusted list, although their positions are changed.
Kirinji moves up from #7 to #3, based on his lengthy 85-basho string,
while Mainoumi drops from #9 to #16. Ozutsu jumps from #20 to #8,
while Kyokushuzan’s 62-basho string sends him up from #19 to #11 – we
all just KNEW he was better than #19, didn’t we?
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longevity factor isn’t applied to the active list because the fully
qualified men there have already had it applied to them, and it’s
irrelevant to those who are non-qualified. There are actually 140
men on the fully qualified list but since the great majority possess
little ‘elevatorness,’ there isn’t much point in showing them. If
anyone has a question about where a certain rikishi stands, just ask
and I’ll let you know.
Note: Since the banzuke changes resulting from rikishi’s Hatsu
performance weren't known until the day this issue was published - as
always - the standings here are one ‘banzuke’ behind.
Hokutoriki remains on top of the active list, and is still untouchable
in the near term. As mentioned above, his dip into juryo knocked
his EI down to 7.68 and since the juryo penalty is applied both going
into and out of juryo, his EI for the Haru banzuke is already known to
be 7.15, whether he makes it back to makuuchi in Haru or not.
Even though his slide this time was due to injury, I had already begun
towonder if he could remain in makuuchi with
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his one-size-fits-all sumo style.
If he does falter, Takekaze appears to have the elevator goods to
overtake him someday, as he regains the #2 spot with a nine-spot drop
and a change of direction on the Hatsu banzuke. His 5.28 EI is
his high water mark so far. He’ll probably have to post around a
9-6 mark this time from the M8w position to keep moving that EI
upwards. But if he can do that, then he’s practically guaranteed
to push it even higher after that because he’s bound to take a
good-sized tumble from around M4/M5. With that, his EI could be
near top 20 territory (as yet unqualified, of course).
Here is the current top ten
active list. Except for Asasekiryu at #3, no one else appears to
be a candidate for elevator notoriety, so let’s hope both Hokutoriki
and Takekaze can both post at least a kachi-koshi in January so
there’ll be some elevator news worth reading. That’s the Elevator
Ride for this time. Thanks for looking in.
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