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View Full Version : How quickly will Asashoryu win the Jan. 2008 basho?



John McCulloch
6th December 2007, 04:41
He's back in action (albeit exhibition matches) and has already beaten Hakuho.

As many have remarked, the last couple of basho without Asashoryu have been interesting/weird.

Now it seems Asashoryu is...

a) in the best physical condition he's been in for quite some time
b) dying to get back into action
c) mad as hell (my guess)!

I know I only have a 0.003 average for picking basho winners, but I have a strong feeling that Asashoryu will dominate the next event (14-1). In some ways he has to or there's a danger he'll be viewed as a spent force by the competition and the Sumo Kyokai.

Your views please (Jon).

Best wishes,

John McCulloch

jonpalombi
7th December 2007, 04:14
Hey John,
In my humble opinion, without Chiyotaikai in the game, Asashoryu should have a relatively easy time capturing the January Tokyo Basho. If Yokozuna Hakuho can relax enough, without ALL the attention being focused on him, he might play spoiler, to some degree. Still, all-in-all, I sure wouldn't want to be in his mawashi when Yokozuna Asashoryu feels the need to show who the top dog REALLY is! :eek: Can Kotomitsuki throw a monkey wrench into the mix? Possibly. Sort of? It may prove to be anti-climactic in the end. Hmmmm... Do you think Ama can put on some extra pounds, like Aminishiki did? Or would it just slow him down? Probably. I guess we'll find out next month!

Ciao, Jon Palombi

Josh Reyer
7th December 2007, 05:46
Asashoryu has a sprained ankle and is not exactly in the best physical condition, having put on weight and not done much sumo training while he was in Mongolia. He's certainly a contender but far from a clear favorite. My (figurative) money is on Hakuho, but I actually imagine there will be a surprise performance from the Ozeki spot, from either Kotomitsuki or Kotooshu. Also, I'm getting a strong "Dejima in Nagoya 1999" vibe from Ama.

John McCulloch
7th December 2007, 20:55
Well, I am usually dead wrong with my predictions but I do believe that Asashoryu is going to be very fired up for the next basho and that coupled with his incredible skill should steer him to victory.

I don't believe Ama will be able to win the next basho but I definitely think he can pull some big upsets over the 15 days.

It will be a very interesting basho either way. Nice to have a run of good ones for a change!

Josh - nice to have your comments too!

Best wishes,

John McCulloch

jonpalombi
8th December 2007, 04:21
Hey Josh,
I did not know about the ankle/heel injury. Now we've got a more level playing field and a Yusho race in the making! Perhaps Ama will have his day in the sun for the Tokyo Basho? He certainly has the drive to attain Ozeki promotion. Wouldn't it be nice to see both Asashoryu and Chiyotaikai healthy enough to compete in January?

Ciao, Jon

jonpalombi
13th December 2007, 04:12
As Josh informed us, Asa has had to suffer from an ankle injury. This, of course, is going to influence how hard he is able to train. Given that he has been out-of-the-game for far too long, this doesn't bode well for shaking-off the ring rust. Even in the best of physical and mental conditioning, absence from the Dohyo can break the stride of great champions. So, adding an injury during his return to the Banzuke will probably handicap the Yokozuna, to some extent, for the next Basho in Tokyo. Let's hope that it doesn't dampen his Spirit too much. This is the link to Sumo Forum that details Asashoryu's injury: http://www.sumoforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=13832 I wish him a speedy recovery!

Later, Jon