[sumo] Yaocho: Sukubidubidu's Conclusion

[Takanomizu]

Well said. It brings everything together logically.

Are there any photos of Kakizoe and his bride-to-be?

Irene
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dr. Scott Kahn" <smk1 at columbia.edu>
To: "Sumo Mailing List" <sumo at webtrek.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 10:47 AM
Subject: Re: [sumo] Yaocho


> Who do I have to pay to have this post published and placed at the top of 
> the list?
>
> I've been keeping up with the yaocho thread with great admiration for the 
> knowledge of the sumo list members and contempt for what I presume to be a 
> libelous newspaper article.
>
> First, if I were a betting man, I would be putting the house, mortgage, 
> and kid's college fund on Asashoryu obtaining a 15-0 record this upcoming 
> tournament.  Shukan Gendai couldn't have done worse than to wake up a 
> sleeping tiger.  The thought of Asashoryu going through a full training 
> regimen prior to a basho without suffering from his usual cold is scary 
> indeed.
>
> My thoughts on the "success" of 7-7 records going into the last day are 
> that this is a combination of intensity on the part of the wrestler, the 
> unwillingness of the opponent to go full out and risk unnecessary injury, 
> and a gentlemen's agreement among wrestlers.  Furthermore, nobody has 
> brought up the situations where 7-7 wrestlers go up against 8-6 wrestlers 
> who have just won their last match and were out the night before drinking 
> and celebrating.  I would challenge our esteemed sumo list statisticians 
> to come up with such an analysis.  My feeling is that there would be an 
> extraordinary bias towards the 7-7 wrestlers being victorious, compared to 
> 8-6 wrestlers suffering from hangovers.
>
> If Shukan Gendai published such an article about yaocho, then I would 
> guess they have information about all wrestlers, and that this information 
> would have been in their possession prior to this tournament.  I am 
> curious why they wouldn't have published this BEFORE the tournament. 
> Acting as a Monday morning gyoji is pretty easy.  Furthermore, how they 
> can paint a few wrestlers as clean is ridiculous.  Furthermore, if memory 
> serves me correctly, didn't Asashoryu have an encounter on the dohyo with 
> Kyokushuzan?  How would that fit in with charges of yaocho?  And, I think 
> the deeper question is that given Asashoryu's competence and mastery of 
> the dohyo, why would he risk this and his yokozuna and international 
> ambassador status for a few thousand dollars?  This makes no sense.  Now, 
> if someone suggested to me that the last Wakanohana was involved, I might 
> be convinced.  But Asashoryu?  Especially considering the way he blew 
> through the lower ranks, and through the ozeki ranks?  Barry Bonds on 
> steroids and juice, he is not.
>
> As for Kotomitsuki, he has not been the same wrestler since he suffered 
> his "Rock 'em, Sock 'em Robot" jaw injury.  Yaocho?  I think not. The 
> ability is there, the will needs work.  Kaio?  He had an amazing run not 
> too far back to secure an 8-7 record after teetering on the edge.  Like 
> most ozekis with 7 losses, unless the opponent is in the yusho race, or an 
> up and comer, they generally win.  Yaocho or gentleman's agreement?  I 
> think the latter, considering the respect for his status in the community.
>
> I don't know how the courts in Japan work, and whether Ben has to prove 
> his wrestlers are clean, which is a huge burden of proof, or whether Ben 
> can attack Shukan Gendai and find out their sources for this nonsense.  I 
> would speculate that it is some miserable underworld figure who lost a 
> bundle on illegal sumo bets and was rebuffed by Asashoryu in unsuccessful 
> attempts to fix matches.  Again, for Shukan Gendai to identify certain 
> wrestlers as being clean is ridiculous.
>
> Sukubidubidu
>
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