SOS - Shinjinrui on Sumo   Chris Gould Wrapping up his look at increasing the popularity of sumo, Chris Gould caps a series the NSK would do well to refer to. Sumo Souvenirs   Mark Buckton Souvenirs are a part of every sport and sumo is no different - or is it? A look at collectibles and the downright trashy, the bona fide versus the unproven. Rikishi of Old   Joe Kuroda Joe Kuroda's latest look at times past focuses on former makunouchi man Dewagatake. Eric Evaluates   Eric Blair Eric takes a no-nonsense look at the claims of fixed bouts in the Japanese media. Rikishi Diary   Mark Kent Mark Kent - English pro-wrestler and amateur heavyweight sumotori - takes us through the first month or so of his training and preparation for the various European events lined up in in 2007. Heya Peek   Chris Gould SFM's Chris Gould was in Japan for the Hatsu Basho and popped along to the new Shikoroyama Beya to give SFM an online exclusive peek into sumo's newest heya. SFM Interview   Mark Buckton Mark interviews Mark - Buckton on Kent that is as Mark Kent, the UK's only active heavyweight amateur answers a few questions on his own recent entry into the sport. Photo Bonanzas   Sumo Forum stepped in to take the weight off the shoulders of SFM as far as Hatsu went so we could sit back, relax, enjoy the sumo and take a few more select pics you won't see anywhere else. Hatsu Basho Summary Lon Howard Lon wraps the Hatsu Basho and chucks in a few bits on the rush of henka that threatens to sully the good name of at least one foreign ozeki. Sumo Menko   Ryan Laughton Sumo cards of old brought to life by expert collector Ryan Laughton. None of your BBM here. Haru Ones To Watch Carolyn Todd Carolyn ponders and puts fingers to keys on the ones to watch come March and the Haru Basho. Kimarite Focus   Mikko Mattila Mikko's latest look at sumo's kimarite offers unequalled analysis and in depth explanations. Amateur Angles   Howard Gilbert Howard looks at the 'sumo factory' of lore - Nichidai. Kokugi Konnections Todd Lambert Click on Todd's bimonthly focus on three of the best the WWW has to offer. Fan Debate Facilitator - Carolyn Todd Moti Dichne comes back for more and takes on Bradley Sutton on the subject of 'Modernize the heya - yea or nay?' SFM Cartoons Benny Loh & Stephen Thompson In this issue's cartoon bonanza, sit back and sample Benny's artistic offerings. Sumo Odds & Ends SFM's interactive elements - as always includes Henka Sightings, Elevator Rikishi and Eternal Banzuke! Let's Hear From You What was it that made you a sumo fan? Ryan Laughton - sumo fan and menko expert reveals all. Readers' Letters   See what our readers had to say since we last hit your screens. Sumo Quiz The Quizmaster Answer the Qs and win yourself a genuine banzuke.

Elevator Ride by Lon Howard

penalties assessed should they drop to juryo (See the Rules).  Note for example that the top elevator gun of all – Takanofuji – barely qualified to be ranked, with only 33 basho in his string.  Conversely, runner-up Itai continued his run for 53 basho.  I know that many people would argue that, because of this, Itai was the more prolific elevator practitioner.  I can’t really argue with that, and IF I had thought of that when the Elevator Index was under development, I might just have gone in that direction right from the start.  But you know what they say about the regretful sisters known as Wudda and Shudda – well, I don’t really know what they say about them but I do think I can account for longevity without impinging the integrity of the concept.  So, here is the Longevity Adjusted Elevator Index (LAEI).  It’s really just taking a rikishi’s Elevator Index and multiplying it by a Longevity Factor (LF).  The factor is simple.  A rikishi with the minimum 30 basho in his qualifying swing has a factor of 1.30.  A 50-basho string yields a factor of 1.50, etc.  Takanofuji’s Next

Since Kyokushuzan was the only active rikishi on the top 20 all-time elevator list, his intai announcement after shonichi of the Kyushu basho ensured that the list would be unchanged by the rankings on the Hatsu banzuke.  It also meant that the slippery one, affectionately dubbed “Shoes-On” by English-speaking sumo fans, would occupy the 19th spot on the list, at least for two more months.  Of course the list is re-visited with each new banzuke publication, and would change if an active rikishi with a minimum 30-basho qualifying string pushed his way onto it with a high enough Elevator Index (EI).   Since Hokutoriki’s EI was already high enough for 3rd all-time before Kyushu basho, it was assumed that when he got to 30 basho on publication of the Haru banzuke, he would take his place near the top of the list at that time.  But yikes!  His 0-9-6 Kyushu outing dropped him into

juryo, which means he must appear on at least one more makuuchi banzuke to have a 30-basho string.  In the meantime, the mandatory zero banzuke spots moved for Hatsu and Haru (for going into and coming out of juryo) automatically assure him an EI of 7.68 and 7.15 for those two basho, respectively.  Since a 7.15 EI is still good enough for 7th place all-time – assuming he comes back to makuuchi as expected – he is still poised to make a run at one of the top spots.   So here is the all-time top 20 list, which again, is unchanged from last time:   I have thought about using a longevity factor in ranking the elevator rikishi.  It does seem that the large and repetitive undulations the elevator men make on the banzuke are even more impressive when they occur over longer periods of time, especially in light of the