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.

to see if this will occur), and the sport seemed destined to be split  over its direction, how to promote the sport and on the issue of an athlete’s ability to profit from his performances. These fears about the World Sumo League dividing amateur sumo remain thus far unfounded because of the economic realities of professional sport and entertainment in the North American market. While time will tell if the athletes involved will be reprimanded or punished by the IFS, at the time of writing, the World Sumo League had come to a standstill after only a few tournaments. Things did not begin well when dates on May 19 and  20 in Connecticut and upstate New York were cancelled due to slow ticket sales. However, the WSL got underway the next weekend with dates in Auburn Hills, Michigan and Chicago. A week later the show rolled into Philadelphia, but a scheduled mid-week date in Montreal was postponed until a

future date “due to scheduling conflicts involving some of the league’s featured wrestlers”. The cancellations were sincere but they did not hide the fact that the WSL was not filling the venues and was having to pull out of dates for unspecified reasons. By the next weekend, it was all over when events in Florida on June 11 and 12 were cancelled. One was due to a scheduling conflict with another high profile sport in Florida (believed to be the Miami Heat basketball), and the other show was then not economically viable. So, despite much publicity by the athletes in different parts of the country over a couple of months before the WSL hit the road, the American public did not take to amateur sumo in a big way. Officially, the World Sumo League is taking a break to focus on reinvigorating the idea and having a better marketed product. The events outside of North America seem not to be going ahead, and whether we

will see WSL or a Big Boy Productions organised event for the rest of 2006 remains to be seen.  In many ways this is a great pity. Despite all the razzmatazz that came along with the WSL branding, the vision was perhaps not a bad one. Sumo is an easy-to-understand sport that does not require a huge amount of equipment for the athlete, or vast technical knowledge by the spectator. The bouts are usually short and sharp and there is much excitement generated by the closeness of the competitors and the simplicity of the final result – one person has lost, the other has won. Both parties with a stake in promoting amateur sumo, whether for Olympic glory or financial success, could be on to a winner. Only time will tell. N.B. At the time of going to press, it is understood that the ISF will not permit those ISF athletes and officials who participated in the WSL events to take part in this year's ISF sponsored events in Estonia and / or Sakai, Osaka. -ed Home