finally saw day 15, didn't want to post anything until i saw it, so even though it's late here are my thoughts anyway. here's who i felt are the winners and losers of the basho:
winners -
Hakuho: obviously. not only did he continue his winning streak, but he's pretty much single-handedly giving people in the sumo world something to talk about aside from scandals. i don't see any way that he doesn't get 69, especially since the first week will be pretty easy for him (not that the ozeki are putting up much of a fight).
Kaio: got a winning record when it counted, and will live to fight in the kyushu basho in fukuoka which is huge for him.
Tochiozan: showed good sumo, and lived up to the potential that people have been talking about for years. and an 11-4 record at sekiwake is great, and if he can keep this up for the next couple basho (i don't think it will happen) people will be talking about another japanese ozeki which would be huge.
Oguruma Beya Boys: Yoshikaze and Takekaze both had great tournaments. although it does point to a sad state of affairs when the only two people staying in the yusho race (numerically) into the final days are two maegashira rank-and-filers.
Tokusegawa: at his highest ever rank, going up against all of the top guys in the sport Tokusegawa didn't buckle under the pressure and finished the basho with a 6-9 record which isn't bad as far as make-koshi go. the experience he got during this basho will definitely help him when he makes his return to the top of the maegashira ranks which is inevitable.
Sokokurai: got his kachi-koshi in his first tournament in the top division, which is a great milestone, and is the first ever chinese sumotori to even make it to the top division, so i'm sure he's proud of that. but even more than that, he showed some great sumo, and specifically some surprisingly powerful sumo given how much smaller than everyone else he is.
losers -
The Ozeki: two 8-7's, a 9-6, and a 10-5? the double-digit win is alright, but those aren't ozeki records. Kaio gets a semi-pass but the fact remains that these are not the kind of records that ozeki should be putting up. truly dismal basho for Harumafuji, and Baruto, and Kotooshu needs to keep it together in the second half of the tournament.
Aran: did some awful henka and couldn't even get a winning record.
Tokitenku: the less said about this tournament the better, he'll have to start over again way at the bottom of the maegashira ranks.
