[sumo] Day 8 videos & torchbearer results [spoiler]

[Barbara]

One video on the site today:

Ama-Kotooushu. Aha! Vengence visits Kotooushu, in the form of 
lightning-fast Ama! An expert step to the left, and Kotooushu is 
sprawled on his stomach. Ama's henka is the "best" one I've seen in a 
long time. As vile a practice as it is, at least when used by an 
undersized rank-and-file wrestler against an Ozeki, it might be viewed 
as less a sin. But wait, isn't Ama one of the few rikishi who have taken 
an oath never to execute a henka? Do I remember correctly? Keep watching 
the video until it gets to the interview. Demon Kogure asks permission
to direct a question to Ama, one that the announcers have not dared to 
ask out of politeness. Demon: "Didn't you say last year you would not be 
changing your tactics..." Ama smiles, looks embarrassed, strokes his 
face: "...I was just going to go for the side, and it just turned out to 
be this way..." Right. Demon doesn't believe this story and neither does 
anyone else. But think back. What Ama actually said, was something to 
the effect that he promised to always stick to the kind of sumo that the 
fans wanted. Is it a Clintonesque prevarication, or could one possibly 
honestly say that at that moment, with that one opponent, what the fans 
really really wanted was for someone to humiliate Kotooushu with his own 
recent tactics? Because, more than its questionable sumo value, the real 
reason the henka is disfavored is that it can make an honorable rikishi 
look like a fool to fall for it, like inviting someone to sit and then 
pulling the chair out from under them. "Make Kotooushu look like a fool, 
Ama." Is that what the fans wanted? We'll never know everything that 
happened in this sequence of events, but I think my analysis makes the 
most sense.

Torchbearer results:
As D8 torchbearer, Ushiomaru lost the torch to Tokitsuumi, who gave 
chikara-mizu to Tochinohana, who won against Asofuji.

If you're not playing the Torch game, it is easy. One email is all you 
need to write.  The winner gets a complete video set of the current
basho, all 31 hours of coverage with the English commentary, on Xvid avi
files suitable for viewing on a computer.  You can compose your entry now.

I added instructions for requesting a complete set of basho video in
case you don't win the Torchbearer game.

Details, pictures, videos, and explanations are at Barbara's Sumo Site,

http://www.zyvid.com/sumo

in fun,
Barbara Murasakihana