Now that the Osaka tourney is over, I’m curious to know how many sumo fans there are on the SDMB.
Who is your favourite rikishi at the moment? I like Asashouryu, Chiyotaikai, Kaiou (mmmm, Kaiou), Takamisakari, Kyokushuuzan, Kyokutenhou, Tosanoumi…well, I could go on and on, really.
And who listens to the English sumo commentary? Does anyone out there like Dave Wiggins? The man drives me absolutely INSANE. If I hear him say “Pull out the maple syrup, Grandma, its pancake time” in response to a yori-taoshi win one more time, I’m going to march up to Tokyo and kick him where the sun don’t shine.
My favorite wrestlers were Musashimaru, Akebono, and the Takanohana/Wakanohana brothers. Of course since it’s been 5 years since I was able to watch sumo with any regularity any or all of them may have retired by now.
Yep, the only one left at the moment is Musashimaru, and he hasn’t been able to compete in the past couple of tourneys. Takanohana retired during the first tourney of this year in January.
My son loves Musashimaru, and has been pretty disappointed that he’s out of action.
I LOVE SUMO! It’s my favorite sport: the only one I watch willingly.
I watch every Basho I can. My only problem is keeping the names straight. Only a few stick in my mind, though I wish I could remember them better. Kaio was one of my favorites until his back/shoulder problems started kicking in. Now, I don’t think he’s doing so well. Akebono (A.K.A “Chad”) was another that I was fond of. I miss him.
There’s one wrestler that I can’t stand, whose name unfortunately escapes me. (It starts with an “A” Akishira?) He’s the one whose technique consists mainly of slapping his opponant, and hitting him open-handed under the chin. It strikes me as being somewhat “dishonorable” when compared to the usual contest of strength and balance. He did win the “fighting spirit” award in the last Basho I saw, which surprised me a little. I guess the bitch-slapping technique is more acceptable than I think it should be.
Well of course I think Asashouryu is a great one.(He’s so damn fast, never thought I’d say that about a rikishi.) Oh, and Toki. I mean come on, it’s like watching Elvis sumo wrestle.
Dave_D, have you seen the new sekitori Takanotsuru? He is huge, has a very similar build to Toki AND has the sideburns! Its just so funny to watch when they fight each other!
Apparently Takanotsuru has been going out between basho, and when people call him Toki he just goes along with it without correcting them. Toki reckons he’s going to retaliate by going out, doing something really bad and then calling himself Takanotsuru.
So how do you guys in the States watch the sumo? Is it on cable?
Terao was and always will be my absolute favorite. At least I got to go see the final day of his last tournament.
I like Musashimaru a lot, as well as Kyokushuzan (how can you not like a sumo wrestler who leaps over his standing opponent?), but Musashi’s getting injured a lot and looks close to retirement, while Kyoku’s faded from the top.
Chiyotaikai and Asashoryu are a lot of fun to watch, so I guess they’re my new current favorites.
Sorry, I haven’t seen him yet. Unfortunately my only exposure to Sumo has been the stuff on ESPN.(Of course it beats having my PBS station show it once every 6 months as the case use to be.) Still it sounds great to see 2 big guys with massive sideburns go at it. I’m usually not much of a fan of the bigger guys though. I mean I like the small guys who can move around alot, dodge and jump like crazy.(I still think it’s weird seeing little Aminishiki, I think that’s him. He seems so small and then they tell you he’s only 270lbs.)
Occasionally, ESPN will have a summary of the tournaments. I saw one just last week. But they don’t air often; you see billiards and bowling on more frequently than sumo.
Back in Hawaii, we’d see highlights of tourneys if any of the Hawaii boys were competing or if they did anything newsworthy. There were also a couple of Japanese stations-- KIKU and NGN-- that would talk about sumo every now and then. I remember, as a kid, seeing unedited tournaments on TV, with Japanese commentary.
[sub]On a side note, I miss KIKU. I miss seeing Tsuiseki and Soko Ga Shiritai and Crayon Shinchan and those sappy love dramas.[/sub]
