MATCH OF THE DAY: Fujinokawa and Hiradoumi are a delightful little pair of rikishi, and they had an extremely entertaining bout today. They charged at one another at the tachiai and Fujinokawa, after losing the initial tsuppari battle, leapt back. This put him off balance and Hiradoumi followed up, driving him to the edge yet again. Fujinokawa lost his balance but regained it as Hiradoumi staggered backward and beat him off the dohyo. Fujinokawa seemed pleasantly surprised to collect his kensho, and Hiradoumi looked… chagrined.

KIMARITE OF THE DAY: There was nothing in the kimarite department today. I guess we’ll go with Hakunofuji’s twist-and-throw win over Chiyoshoma; as a frequent baker, this kind of reminded me of making giant soft pretzels. You grab it, you pull, you twist, and then you push it down into the pretzely shape. Unlike my preztels, however, Chiyoshoma’s attempts today were half-baked to say the least. Hakunofuji, however, has been great. The punnery is my last resort after catching myself up on the other five divisions; please forgive me.

PINK MAWASHI DAY TEN: Oshoma is not the cleverest of rikishi, and today he fought the Pink Technician to no avail. I have been truly loving the display of sumo variety from Ura, and thanks to Shodai, his bestie, he is now technically in the yusho race. Is he in the yusho race emotionally, or mentally? I doubt it. That is not the way of Ura. But physically, oh boy, he’s there. And Yoshinofuji is breathing very, very heavily down his neck.

OVERALL SUMMARY: Tamawashi finally got his first win against poor Asahakuryu, who probably wondered why he wasn’t receiving many cheers before he remembered who he was fighting. Ridiculously, this win moves him (at last) past Yokozuna Harumafuji in the top ten wins in the top division list. He is the only non-Ozeki/Yokozuna in that list. Daieisho joined the growing list of top division eye wounds today, though I would be surprised to see him go kyujo; that is not, I fear, Daieisho’s style. Despite the loss of our top three, plus Takayasu, this has been an entertaining basho, but not for the rikishi’s brow areas. Oho’s got the recurring scar, Kirishima’s handsome face was left all over the dohyo, and now many people are sporting between 1 and 2 black eyes.

THE YUSHO REPORT: Down in Makushita, the third-highest division, we have Tanji, Akua, and Omori in the yusho race, and tomorrow, in a highlight bout, “stud” Omori will face the GROAT, Asahifuji, fighting up from the fourth division, Sandanme, to fix the odd numbers of rikishi in the top division. Below Juryo and Makuuchi, the top two or “sekitori” divisions, the rikishi only fight 7 times a basho, so the Makushita bracket-style yusho race did not move forward today but will be updated tomorrow. In Juryo, Enho lost, leaving Kazekeno at 9-1, the best sekitori record, and Kazuma at 8-2 ahead of Enho as he joins the 7-3 pack. It is going to be fun yusho race in the top four divisions, which I can’t always say. In case anyone is really interested in sumo, check out the fourth division as well, Sandanme, which features the Greatest Rookie of All Time as well as no less than three ex-Juryo making their slow comebacks from injury: Kiryuko, Nabatame, and one of my favorite young rikishi, Mita. Best of luck to all of our yusho competitors in all the divisions.

Now to Makuuchi: I just truly love Shodai. I just can’t help but love Shodai. I want Kirishima to win, and I still love Shodai. There is just a grace, and a lack thereof, that comes naturally to Shodai in a way that it does not come to the rest of mankind. He is the least expressive person on the face of the earth except possibly Chu-Churanoumi, and I love it. Kirishima, however, really should have fought better today. Shodai did not come with true genkiness, and in fact seemed astonished post-bout that he won. But that’s the way sumo is some of the time, unfortunately; you slip once and the yusho race slips away.

Shodai has now opened the doors to a flood of rikishi. Kirishima falls back to join Fujiryoga, Tobizaru, Kotoeiho, Gonoyama, and Wakatakakage at 8-2, with Yoshinofuji, Asanoyama, Hakunofuji, and Ura chasing at 7-3. I am really vibing with this group of chasing rikishi, who, when all four are combined, have four working limbs to walk on. Out of this group, I would say that I could well see Gonoyama, Wakatakakage, Yoshinofuji, and Asanoyama winning this yusho, as well as my pick for number one still, Kirishima. Fujiryoga and Kotoeiho I feel are too young, Tobizaru and Ura too unconventional (though if Tobizaru henkas his way to victory, that wouldn’t astonish me, per se) and Hakunofuji, I’m simply worried about his injuries and allergies. I think that Gonoyama is coming into his own as a rikishi or has just been fighting better of late, Yoshinofuji is strong and young and has been waiting for a yusho for quite some time, and Asanoyama, Wakatakakage, and Kirishima are all grizzled veterans, and all have at least one top division yusho under their mawashi.

But in the end, I’m still team Kiri. And, like, Ura. But let’s be real. It’s not going to be Ura. And yet, I am always…

Team Ura!