<DATE> Contents

Attention to Akeni
Carolyn Todd
SFM's newest addition to the writing staff takes an in-depth look at akeni, their history and production techniques
Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
Joe Kuroda slides former yokozuna Minanogawa under his SFM microscope
Eric Evaluates
Eric Blair
Eric's wit scythes through the SML and makes clear his opinion of where the future lies for online sumo forums.
Eternal Banzuke Phase II
Lon Howard
Stats, equations and mathematics all lead to a list of sumo's most prolific up and downers
Matta-Henka: Another View
Lon Howard
A row that will never be fully decided but Lon gives his impressions on it all the same
Heya Peek
Mark Buckton
Mihogaseki, former home of Estonian sekitori Baruto is toured (and peeked at) by SFM's Editor-in-Chief
SFM Interview
Mark Buckton
Mark interviews shin-komusubi Kokkai
Photo Bonanza
See the Nagoya basho and Akeni photo bonanzas
Nagoya Basho Summary
Lon Howard
Lon gives us his Nagoya basho summary, along with the henka sightings results
Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila casts his watchful eye over lower division goings on in makushita and below.
Aki Ones to Watch
Carolyn Todd
Carolyn takes over the job of rikishi job performance prediction for SFM as she looks at those to keep an eye on come September
Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Our man Mikko's latest trio of kimarite get thrown about the SFM literary dohyo
Amateur Angles
Howard Gilbert
Howard returns with the second of his columns on the amateur sumo scene.
Sumo Game
SFM's very own quiz comes in for a bit of self scrutiny by our secretive man of questions. We'll call him 'X'.
Sumo in Print
Barbara Ann Klein
SFM’s Editor reviews “The Little Yokozuna”, a book for “young” (and older) adults
Kokugi Connections
Todd Lambert
Check out Todd's bimonthly focus on 3 of the WWW's best sumo sites
Fan Debate
Facilitator - Lon Howard
Keri Sibley and Eduardo de Paz  ponder the concept of ‘to pay or not to pay’ makushita salaries
SFM Cartoons
Stephen Thompson
Sit back and enjoy the offerings of one of sumo's premier artists
Lets Hear From You
What was it that made you a sumo fan? SFM’s own Todd Lambert details his path into sumofandom
Readers' Letters
See what our readers had to say since we last went out
Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.

  Baruto
Sooo, what do we think about Baruto’s chances? In his second makunouchi basho he was up against much tougher opponents than before (nine of higher rank), and his inexperience started to trip him up (although he won five), and that didn’t include Asashoryu or all the ozeki. At that level his strength and size aren’t a guarantee of victory, nor should they be. In Tokyo he should finally meet the yokozuna in a real torikumi, and we’ll see what they make of each other. I think he might struggle.


Baruto

Kitazakura
And what of our salt thrower? He’s 34, he’s going down to juryo. Will he try to bounce back yet again or will he call it quits before he starts an unstoppable slide? There’s no doubt that the fans would want to see him 
keep going, especially given the dearth of characters out there, but is this one slide too far? It’s not as if he’s a lost cause – in May he won against Baruto – but he’s been bobbing about on that juryo/makunouchi cusp for a long time. And maybe he’ll keep doing that, although we have to think that it won’t be for much longer.
    


Kisenosato
Not since Kyushu last year has another komusubi managed to get a winning record. It looked a bit dodgy for the first week – by nakabi he was 2-6 (and one of those wins was against Kotooshu, which barely counts as they always seem like a gift), and he appeared to be wasting all his energy and focus glaring at his higher-ranked opponents, which only amused them. In the second week,  he won consistently, although against lower-ranked sekitori (except Baruto), but if he can maintain that focus while also taking out a few more sanyaku and ozeki, he’ll be on his way to sekiwake.
    


Mokonami
Mokonami seemed like the next big thing when he reached J1 in May after only two juryo basho. His progress came to a screaming halt with injury, and in Nagoya he went 4-11 at J5, so he’s on a slippery slope. He needs to put the brakes on
with a good basho in Tokyo to get himself back near the top - but it all depends on his health. He’s still only 22 so there’s plenty of time to fulfil his potential; however, this time around, unless he’s had some miraculous recovery (and I hope that’s so), I think he’ll struggle again.


Mokonami

Hochiyama
In only his third basho in juryo, Hochiyama won the yusho  with a fine 13-2 in Nagoya. In his other two juryo basho he finished 8-7 and 10-5, so his rise up the banzuke hasn’t affected his ability to win. His rush through juryo has been impressive after struggling to escape makushita, and time will tell whether this winning streak is just a happy accident. If not, then the Japanese have another young star to champion.

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