[sumo] Second test positive!

[Doreen Simmons]

On 2008/09/06, at 15:54, Jezz wrote:

> The news (found over at the sumo forum) is that Roho's and Hakurozan's
> second test for marijuana has been found to be positive.
>
I got it even faster -- at the hairdresser's  ;-}

> I am expecting that in the very short term that they will withdraw
> (pun unintended) from the upcoming basho.
>
Yes, I can't see any alternative; keeping the peace is important. As 
soon as the word got around that the brothers had been regularly 
hanging out  with Wakanoho, their responses started to look more like 
damage control than protestations of innocence.

And the rijicho's wittering about getting another test -- until it 
comes out the way he wants it, presumably -- is not helping him. But 
nobody's exactly waiting in the wings ready to take over. Way back in 
the Night of the Long Knives when then rijicho Sakaigawa (50th yokozuna 
Sadanoyama) was ousted, several strong contenders were in a rather 
precarious balance, and decent, not-too-bright,  unambitious 
Tokitsukaze (Ozeki Yutakayama) was elected as a stopgap measure.

Has anyone heard any results of the meeting of non-Director-level 
oyakata hastily summoned for today?

> Long-term - who knows?  Perhaps another look at recruiting procedure?
>
I can't see that this would make any difference. This is nothing to do 
with recruiting or early training, but individual preferences. And 
don't forget -- these are still isolated instances. One smoker 
confirmed, two of his close buddies with positive tests; and all 
Russian speakers; having a common language is likely to be a strong 
reason for  bonding. It doesn't imply that they smoked together. It  
cannot be used to blacken the reputation of all foreign rikishi.

Nobody's ever made a cannabis charge stick before -- though one of the 
sleaze magazines published an accusation about some of the Americans 
having a smoking  party when they were active; the men accused strongly 
denied it and nothing came of it.



Doreen Simmons
  jz8d-smmn at asahi-net.or.jp