I’ll not linger on the actual merits of the case - at least as it pertains to the status of whether or not gays and lesbians should be allowed to marry.

But it does sadden me to see how one lone, rogue judge clad in black robes can summarily dismiss the will of over 7,000,000 California voters who chose to revise and amend their state’s constitution with a swing of a gavel.

The appeal has little hope of surviving in the ultra-liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals… and from there, I cannot say with certainty that the SCOTUS would pick it up for review.

The risk is that the Ninth Circuit Court would uphold Judge Walker’s decision and thereby preempt any states in their jurisdiction that define marriage as between only man and woman.

If this ruling stands, sure this nation is not very far dealing a death-stroke to the already ailing institute of marriage (beset by cheap and easy divorce among other things)… and perhaps equally troubling, a further erosion of the 10th amendment which preserves states’ rights, as well as the PEOPLE’s rights to form their own laws in their own states.

Bob Costas Elena Kagan confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice. Well… can’t say that we didn’t see that not failing.

I normally have a “delete on sight” policy toward junk email and especially chain emails (mail that gets circulated to friends of friends of friends, etc… a relic from the “pre-Facebook/Twitter Era”).

But this one was good enough to keep.

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn’t buy one.
If a liberal doesn’t like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative reads this, he’ll share it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will want to have it removed from the internet because he’s “offended”.

Very sparse coverage for today, and Day 10 …

Day 9

I did manage to catch the NHK recap of the day’s notable wins, which includes the two European stars of this hon-basho… Kotooshu (EO) and Baruto (ES) who both started at 7-1 … but Baruto got the upper hand first, and used his mass to first unbalance the Bulgarian, and then push him out with a yoritaoshi win.

Baruto moved to (8-1) and Kotooshu fell to (7-2).

Asashoryu’s (WY/8-1) kirikaeshi victory against Kisenosato (WM3/5-4) was nothing short of blisteringly fast, and Hakuho (EY/8-1) far outstripped Kakizoe (EM4/4-5), where both yokozuna further cement their places at the zenith of this basho.

Kaio (WO/5-4) eked out his 812th career win from a rather mediocre Hokutoriki (EM3/2-7)… and he seems to have struggled to do so. He will need three more wins to “break even” with a kachi-koshi (8-7). I honestly think that he is also heading down the same path that made Chiyotaikai finally tender his inai; I just hope that he doesn’t let himself fall back to sekiwake or maegashira status first.

Day 10

I’ll have to catch the recap tonight to comment in any greater depth - but it appears that Baruto and Kotooshu have both lost bouts, falling to 8-2 and 7-3 respectively, and removing them further from the possibility of a yusho.

The two yokozuna remain impressive at 9-1.

“…And then there were four.”

Four remaining front-runners for a possible yusho in this tournament, that is.

And with my somewhat sleep-deprived memory at work, we’ll primarily look at those bouts:

Kitataiki (EM15/7-1) maintains his status against Shotenro (WM9/3-5), nothing terribly memorable here - and tomorrow he is slated to face off against fellow rank-and-filer Homasho (EM12/3-5)… but I suspect that his luck is soon going to run out after that.

The ever-showy McShowboat Takamisakari (EM11/4-4) pulled off a win against Shimotori (WM13/3-5), but would that the quality of his pre-bout warm-up antics were matched by some quality sumo on his part. He will likely keep his place toward the bottom of the Makuuchi line-up, at any rate.

Toyohibiki (WM16) falls from the leaderboard to 6-2 at the hands (or perhaps the torso) of Tochiozan’s (EM10/4-4) yoritaoshi… and Hakuba (WM14/6-2) likewise eats a Russian yorikiri, lovingly served by Aran (WM10/6-2).

Also, Big Daddy Aminishiki (WM6) is forced off the leaderboard with some oshitaoshi loving from Tamawashi (EM7), equalizing both of their records to 6-2.

Moving up to the sanyaku rikishi - Kotomitsuki (WO/1-7) calls it quits (for this basho) citing some issues with his toes as part of the reason for his absolutely horrid sumo. The Ozeki will be fighting under the kadoban (facing demotion) in the next tournament, the Osaka Haru-Basho in March. He will really have to bring his A-Game to bring off the required 10 wins to keep his title and while he might not be showing his age as much as Chiyotaikai was… he might want to take some counsel with his oyakata about putting in his intai (retirement) paperwork.

Kotomitsuki’s withdrawal gives an easy pass for today to Yoshikaze (EM5), who probably really needed it - not that it will help all that much with his 3-5 losing record.

I have to admit, that I was a little worried for Baruto (ES/7-1), coming fresh from a kinboshi victory over Hakuho yesterday as he faced down Harumafuji (WO/6-2), who has been quite the steamroller in his own right this basho. And after an initial lock-up - Baruto deftly worked his migi-yotsu onto Big Harry, and then worked him over the rice-bale ring border for a solid win against the ozeki.

Baruto will face off against fellow European Kotooshu (EO/7-1) on Day 9. I’m not sure who I will be rooting for the most, as I really have been enjoying both of their performances thus far.

Speaking of Kotooshu, he handily defeated Hokutoriki (EM3/2-6) - I’ll have to revisit this later today, as I can’t quite remember if there was particular footage here that stood out to me.

Hakuho (EY/7-1) had himself a bit of a panic moment (likely more a cold shiver at the thought of giving up a second consecutive kinboshi to a rank-and-filer) here as Kisenosato (WM3/5-3) was nearly able to overpower the yokozuna briefly following the tachi-ai, but he regained his composure and took advantge of Kise’s weakening momentum to lever him for a well-played shitatenage underarm throw.

No after-bout swats at people’s heads today from Asashoryu (WY/7-1) - just plain, hard and fast tsuppari handiwork leading up to an straightforward oshidashi ejection for Kakizoe (EM4/4-4).

More details can be had over at Sumotalk.com, and as always, the complete scorecards are here.

Topping today’s events is nothing short of the Unthinkable™.

Well, if not unthinkable, at least what most sumo watchers would have considered to be a heck of a long shot:

BARUTO TOPPLES HAKUHO!

In what came as a total surprise, the previously undefeated Hakuho (EY/6-1) was sent to the floor of the dohyo with an amazingly well done sukuinage by Baruto (ES/6-1) now bringing the field of yusho contenders (all at 6-1) to a total of nine rikishi, with six of them in the upper half of the Makuuchi line-up.

If Baruto is able to pull off a 14-1 or a 13-2, he should be almost be certain to be considered ready for promotion to Ozeki, along with pulling off a remarkable kinboshi against the young yokozuna who had been clearing out the dohyo like a steamroller!

Also noteworthy… was the exchange of glares between the two yokozuna as Hakuho made his way back up the path to the lockerrooms.

I fully expect the remaining week of the Basho will be a bit of bloodletting as the frontrunner ranks get thinned out.

And I wouldn’t be quick to count out the rikish at the lower half of the makuuchi banzuke either: These guys have been pretty strong this basho, and could stand to show any of the sanyaku frontrunners the dirt as well as Baruto did for Hakuho.

These “rank and filers” include:
- Toyohibiki (WM16) - He had performed well in the past, but slipped to the very brink of the Juryo lockerrooms
- Kitataiki (WM15)
- Hakuba (WM14)
- Aminishiki (WM6)

Aminishiki (WM6) handily defeated Miyabiyama, adding to his seemingly downward trajectory in the rank and file: The Graceful Mountain (WM2) now stands at 2-5.

Sanyaku frontrunner matches include:

Harumafuji (WO) knocking Kisenosato (WM3/5-2) down another peg, putting the kibosh on his yusho hopes.

Kotooshu (EO) narrowly defeated Kakizoe (EM4/5-2) with an uwatenage (over-arm throw) where Kakizoe nearly blasted the Bulgarian Ozeki and forcing him back. Luckily, Kotooshu caught the opening he needed to get hold of Kakizoe’s arm and gave him the heave-ho around his center of gravity, and out of the ring.

Finally, we come to the Asashoryu (WY) vs. Hokutoriki (EM3/2-5) who was not likely to have much play against the any of the frontrunners, much less a yokozuna. There has been some discussion by the NHK commentators that Hokutoriki might have a cold or something that is affecting his overall performance. At any rate, he did give a good fight, charging out of the tachi-ai … and managed to prolong the inevitable fact of Asa forklifting him out of the ring with a tsuridashi (grabbing him from around and rear of the mawashi, and levering him off his feet by dropping one’s hips).

As soon as Asa dropped him of, he did pull a light punch toward the back of Hoku’s head - a move that could arguably be seen as more unsportsmanlike, than merely a playful after-match swat. Things like this will not help to lighten the somewhat negative criticism of Japanese press tends to have of the 68th Yokozuna.

For more coverage,do check out www.Sumotalk.com and of course, the official scorecards here.

Day 6 in the dohyo!

First the Juryo seed for the day at the bottom of the Makuuchi lineup:

Sagatsukasa (WJ1/4-2) gets the tsukidashi push-out from Toyohibiki (EM16/5-1) who is showing signs of improvement in his game. If the senior maegashira keep up with their sub-par performance, and Toyo keeps his game face on - he might see some action against the Sanyaku rikishi in the March Haru Basho at Osaka.

Skipping past the bulk of the rank and file (as I have a habit of doing), we come to…

Baruto (ES/5-1) shows Kotogoshiku a thing or two, namely an easy (oshidashi) and a another notch on the Komusubi’s loss record, bringing him to 2-4. Will this record herald a return to Juryo for this Sadogatake rikishi?

Kotooshu (EO/5-1) breaks Kisenosato’s (WM3) straight run of wins, reducing him to 5-1 with a (yoritaoshi) that buried him back-first into the dirt, right along with whatever zensho-yusho (perfect win record of 15-0) dreams he might have been harbouring, much less surpassing his previous 5-win run back in the 2009 Natsu-Basho (May).

This also of course, leaves Hakuho the unchallenged (and given his performance this basho, the likely)candidate for a perfect win record.

Toyonoshima (EM1/2-4) came out very strong today against Kaio (WO/2-4) with a double inside grip that put the veteran ozeki down on his back w/ a flawless sukuinage (beltless arm throw)

Miyabiyama (WM2/2-4) dominated Kotomitsuki (EO/1-5) - albeit with a kind of a henka-ish move. Kotomitsuki probably moves further down his path to kadoban status for the next basho with an easy hikiotoshi (arm/shoulder yank-down).

Harumafuji (WO/5-1) blasted Goeido (EM2/2-4) - yesterday’s gold-star winner - with a lightning fast hikkake counter-maneuver behind Goeido, tossing the maegashira out with his own momentum

Hakuho is undefeated still at (6-0), and sends Hokutoriki (EM3/2-4) packing off with his fourth loss. The Khan is all but unstoppable! (yorikiri)

Asashoryu (5-1) also manhandles Kakuryu (WK/2-4) with similiar ease. (yorikiri)

Official scorecard here.

As much as I hate to interrupt the Hon-Basho coverage with political schtuff… something just crossed my desktop that I can’t let go of.

It seems that our national press establishment aren’t the only members of the leftist name-calling machine; no more esteemed a personage than the (questionably) Honourable Charles Schumer (D-NY) has taken to using the vile epithet “tea-bagger” to refer to people politically to the right of himself.

In a campaign mailing bearing his name, he encourages voters in Massachusetts to support the Democratic candidate, Ms. Martha Coakely against Mr. Scott Brown, referring to him as a “tea-bagger”.

Now, I’m mostly indifferent to the Tea Party movement, it’s mostly a venue for people to blow off steam with little hope of actually being listened to by the Rockefeller GOP elites who saw to it that McCain and Mittens got the most airtime, along with convincing other contenders to either play (Fred Thompson) the stalking horse or drop out (Huckabee)… in short, I expect the various Tea Party organizations to have a marginal effect on the general population in the short run - much like the Ron Paul campaign did.

That said, I think that the more focus is put into changing the ground game, and getting local conservatives (read: not establishment GOP’ers out to preserve their investments in DC) and whatever allies they can sway in DC… but I digress from my point.

I am getting quite tired of the never-ending references in the media to the Tea Partiers and their movement with the predominantly sodomite term “tea-baggers”.

If anyone cares to, feel free to cut & paste this letter to Sen. Chuck Schumer via his official web site form-to-mailer, which is at http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm

Dear Senator Schumer:

I am writing to express my disgust and deep displeasure with your very unprofessional and disturbing remark regarding Mr. Scott Brown, the Republican candidate for the Senate seat vacated by the late Hon. Edward Kennedy, per the quotation from a campaign mailing, and reported by the National Review Online at http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDcyMjA0ZjQ3YzM1NjQ0ZmNjNGZkYWFiZDgwOTFmZGY=

which reads as follows:

“Martha Coakley is running to fill the rest of Ted Kennedy’s term, and her opponent is a far-right tea-bagger Republican. ”

Sir, are you not aware that the term “tea-bagger” is a reference to a sexually deviant practice mostly known to be performed by and received by homosexual men, and by heterosexual women (to a far lesser extent) …?

Specifically, the term refers to the act of the performer inserting his scrotum into the mouth of the recipient - in a manner such that it resembles the dipping of a tea bag in a cup of tea! Certainly, this sort of act that should never be referenced in any polite or official speech in most circumstances, much less coming from the mouth of a senior senator!

While this vile and filthy reference has been popularized by certain segments of our supposedly professional national press corps, and certainly makes for campaign fodder - you, sir, have crossed a line of decency.

Shame on you, sir. The people of the state of New York expect much better of you.

If you are a man of honor, and have any respect whatsoever for your office, and the honor of the United States Senate, publicly apologize to Mr. Brown immediately, and to refrain from using such disgusting language in either your official or your campaign communications.

Or to put it more bluntly, Senator - as my second grade teacher would admonish her students: Please learn to *think* before you speak.

Respectfully yours, (in spite of your lack of respect)

(signed)

Do use your own RL name in place of (signed), of course. The web form doesn’t support HTML mark-up either, so just do a simple cut & paste.

RL name removed for obvious reasons - use your own as you see fit.

Day 5 developments -

Yesterday, I noted that Tokusegawa (EJ1/2-3) had been moved up to the big(ger) boys of the Makuuchi Banzuke, and he faced off against Koryu (EM16/1-4), pulling off an impressive force-out (yoritaoshi). However, tomorrow’s matching will bring the West Juryo #1 Sagatsukasa (4-1) to bear against the West Maegashira #16, Toyohibiki (4-1) who seems to be making up for lost matches in prior tournaments this time around.

Further up the sumo rankings, we find Kisenosato (WM3/5-0) smashing his way through the Banzuke, and as the English commentator noted, he may be mirroring his 13-2 run in the 2009 Natsu Basho (May) in which he had five straight victories from the start. Today’s fifth win comes at Yoshikaze’s (EM5/1-4) expense. Is it still too early to peg him as a potential yusho candidate..?

His victory is also noteworthy in that the only other rikishi on the Banzuke without a loss is none other than Yokozuna Hakuho who showed the unlucky Miyabiyama (WM2/1-4) the fast way out of the dohyo much as Asashoryu did yesterday…

…and as for Asashoryu - (4-1), he was handed his first loss which gave Goeido (EM2/2-3) his first kinboshi (gold star), which will put some extra spending cash into his wallet… although that win was by a hikiotoshi (stepping-back-shoulder-pull-down), a move that some might consider amateurish or henka.

My personal favourite ozeki, Kotooshu (EO/4-1) ousted the “Gorgeous Georgian” Tochinoshin (WM1/1-4) with a snappy underarm throw (shitatenage), while his fellow East Ozeki and stablemate Kotomitsuki (1-4) racked up his first win this basho against Toyonoshima (EM1/1-4) which will hopefully mark an end to his sub-par performance.

Those are the standouts… and of course, for the complete scorecard, there’s the official site.

Another one of my favourites, Baruto (ES/4-1), showed himself strong against veteran West Ozeki Kaio (2-3) with a quick blast-out yorikiri. I really hope he continues in this track towards promotion to Ozeki.

First, the obvious sub-headline which has probably been beaten to death in the Japanese news cycle like a certain former ozeki:

CHIYOTAIKAI RETIRES!

After suffering a straight run of losses in January Hon Basho, to include getting a temporary dirt-nap from the hands of fellow veteran Kaio, the former Ozeki is hanging up his mawashi to assume coaching duties under the name “Sanoyama” at his home stable, the Kokonoe-beya.

Considering his ozeki record over the years, where he fought 14 tournaments under the “do or die” kadoban status (where he was under the threat of demotion) he had a tenuous grasp on his championship at best.

Day Four was also noteworthy in that all five ozeki handed up losses to either komusubi or the “rank and file” maegashira rikishi.

The upper-level recap:

Kakuryu (WK/2-2) v. Kotooshu (EO/3-1) - The Bulgarian Ozeki was tossed down with an impressive shitatenage as Kakuryu forced him off balance by maneuvering Kotooshu, keeping his leg off the ground. The gravity of this situation caught up with Kotooshu soon enough, as Kakuryu ably gave him a right good dusting!

Kotogoshiku (EK/1-3) very surprisingly denied Kaio (WO/2-2) his 809th Makuuchi win, a surprise considering his less-than-stellar record against Kaio in previous basho: he came out of the tachi-ai with excellent momentum, giving the Ozeki a quick escort over the tawara.

Baruto (ES/3-1) … wins by default of Chiyotaikai’s retirement. I’m curious as to how (or if) a Juryo rikishi will be moved into the 16th slot…

UPDATE:Tokusegawa (EJ1/1-3) will be facing the Sanyaku rikishi sooner than he might have expected.

Toyonoshima (EM1/1-3) flung (WO/3-1) Harumafuji out of the ring, very narrowly beating him to the dirt on the way down. The close call in “who hit dirt first” required a conference of the shinpan.

I have to hand it to Toyo- getting someone Haru’s size completely airborne, even accounting for existing momentum is no easy task!

Tochinoshin (WM1/1-3) snagged his only win in the basho thus far, against Kotomitsuki (EO/0-4). This might be noteworthy, if not for Kotomitsuki’s appalling winless record. The “Gorgeous Georgian” will need to step it up a notch or three if he has his eyes set on a komusubi promotion. And if that promotion comes at a cost to Kotomitsuki falling under the Kadoban… eeegh.

The two Yokozuna had themselves some Maegashira to snack on - with both of them keeping spotless 4-0 records.

Asashoryu wasted exactly no time blasting the massive Miyabiyama (WM2/1-3) across the tawara, and maybe well on his way to vindicating himself against the noisy claims of some sectors of the Japanese press that would have us regard him as being lazy or irresponsible for having had a day or two off during the pre-basho training.

Hakuho likewise made short work of the feisty Goeido (EM2/1-3) with a crushing yoritaoshi.

I haven’t been paying close attention to the lower half of the Makuuchi, and I wouldn’t have gave this any particular notice aside from waking up at 2:30am or so to catch the near last of these matches (I did but Aran (WM10/3-1) gave Kokkai (EM9/1-3) a rather impressive uwatenage (overarm throw), setting the stage for his return to the upper Maegashira ratings in the March Haru-Basho, if he can keep making wins …

…and Asasekiryu(EM8/3-1) cashed Mokonami’s (WM11/1-3) check at the First Bank of Yoritaoshi… and sadly, I fell asleep again. Blast and double drat at the late, late time difference from here to Japan….

For the complete Day 4 Makuuchi scorecard, click here.