Damn now I miss the days when ESPN would show sumo.

WhyteRaven74: Damn now I miss the days when ESPN would show sumo.

I came to say the same thing. I loved when ESPN would show all sorts of stuff, especially sumo. It is competition and drama stripped down and wrapped in as small a package as could be found with dangling tassels of history and ritual to dress it up.

i miss live coverage of mudd wrestling

Was that one guy white? I don't think I ever saw a white sumo in Japan.

SharkTrager: Was that one guy white? I don't think I ever saw a white sumo in Japan.

It wasnt until the last decade that whitey broke into the top division. There are a few out there, mainly from Eastern Europe. Of course, as far as foreigners go there have been a few yokazuna: One born in Hawaii (who payed college basketball), One Samoan, and a Mongolian or two.

I was shocked that after the ref bump, one of the guys didn't try to cheat or use a steel chair.

Sitting in the front row for one of those looks a bit scary after watching this.

SharkTrager: Was that one guy white? I don't think I ever saw a white sumo in Japan.

Baruto Kaito

Each Sumo stable/heya is allowed one foreign born player. They use to allow two players, but they were worried that sumo was being overtaken by foreigners so they cut back on the number of non-japanese people allowed. A lot of the problem is because less Japanese people where choosing sumo and instead chose Basketball or Baseball as their sport of choice so they are trying to close ranks.

Great clown Pagliacci's pick-me-up: SharkTrager: Was that one guy white? I don't think I ever saw a white sumo in Japan.

It wasnt until the last decade that whitey broke into the top division. There are a few out there, mainly from Eastern Europe. Of course, as far as foreigners go there have been a few yokazuna: One born in Hawaii (who payed college basketball), One Samoan, and a Mongolian or two.

I've seen Chad, and of course the Mongolians (although they seem to be at the heart of a lot of the recent controversy) but I have never seen a white guy actually wrestle in Japan.

EmRack: Great clown Pagliacci's pick-me-up: WhyteRaven74: Damn now I miss the days when ESPN would show sumo.

I came to say the same thing. I loved when ESPN would show all sorts of stuff, especially sumo. It is competition and drama stripped down and wrapped in as small a package as could be found with dangling tassels of history and ritual to dress it up.

I remember that 10 years ago espn2 was showing the Magic The Gathering World Championships

I loved the hard hitting commentary of ESPN's M:tG coverage
Bob: "Jim, if you will notice there is a stack of cards on the table in front of Clarence, that is called his "deck". He has chosen to take a card off the top of the "deck", that is called "drawing" a card. He has brought it up to the cards he is already holding called his "hand".

Jim: "I see there is another person sitting across the table from Clarence, does that mean they will be playing this game against each other?"

Bob: "Yes, Jim, I believe it does"

SharkTrager: Great clown Pagliacci's pick-me-up: SharkTrager: Was that one guy white? I don't think I ever saw a white sumo in Japan.

It wasnt until the last decade that whitey broke into the top division. There are a few out there, mainly from Eastern Europe. Of course, as far as foreigners go there have been a few yokazuna: One born in Hawaii (who payed college basketball), One Samoan, and a Mongolian or two.

I've seen Chad, and of course the Mongolians (although they seem to be at the heart of a lot of the recent controversy) but I have never seen a white guy actually wrestle in Japan.

I haven't seen it either, cause we don't really get sumo coverage easily anymore. I check when I can. The former Soviet countries seem to be having some success over there. There was a Brazilian that briefly did well, but he was falling last I checked and don't know if he is still around

Baruto is 6 feet 6 inches and 410 pounds. Agile like the cat but physical like the rhinoceros.

He'd make a hell of an NFL offensive lineman.

FriarReb98: WhyteRaven74: Damn now I miss the days when ESPN would show sumo.

I think it was SCNE that used to show Aussie rules football and rugby all the time. Really, I know they're never gonna be as popular as the Big Four plus Soccer, but it was still fun to see something completely different and badass on TV....

I was a big fan of Australian rules golf myself.

degenerate-afro: A lot of the problem is because less Japanese people where choosing sumo and instead chose Basketball or Baseball as their sport of choice so they are trying to close ranks.

I would like to see what a person who could chose to pursue either sumo or basketball looks like physically

doglover: Really, it's called a "dohyo"? That's kind of funny. I thought it would be more poetically named than "dirt ring"

Foreign people make funny sounds.

Doeo?
blog.brains4all.com/brainblog/archives/doeo.png

Lady Beryl Ersatz-Wendigo: FriarReb98: WhyteRaven74: Damn now I miss the days when ESPN would show sumo.

I think it was SCNE that used to show Aussie rules football and rugby all the time. Really, I know they're never gonna be as popular as the Big Four plus Soccer, but it was still fun to see something completely different and badass on TV....

I was a big fan of Australian rules golf myself.

What's that? You take a 2-stroke penalty if your caddy dies from a snake bite?

Zombalupagus: degenerate-afro: A lot of the problem is because less Japanese people where choosing sumo and instead chose Basketball or Baseball as their sport of choice so they are trying to close ranks.

I would like to see what a person who could chose to pursue either sumo or basketball looks like physically

Given how the sumo system works it makes sense. These are often not people who are naturally that big.

WhyteRaven74: Damn now I miss the days when ESPN would show sumo.

When Fox Sports started regional coverage, they ran a series of straight-played ads such as this one for fake 'foreign' sports from other, to emphasise their local coverage (compared to ESPN's broader global coverage). They also never had any translation or explanation, so you were forced to make up your own. (E.g., Turkish dry-bed highdiving.) Others included South African bike gauntlet, Russian slapfighting, Chinese tree-catching, and Indian blindfolded giant bat fighting. Brilliantly done.

Great clown Pagliacci's pick-me-up: EmRack: Great clown Pagliacci's pick-me-up: WhyteRaven74: Damn now I miss the days when ESPN would show sumo.

I came to say the same thing. I loved when ESPN would show all sorts of stuff, especially sumo. It is competition and drama stripped down and wrapped in as small a package as could be found with dangling tassels of history and ritual to dress it up.

I remember that 10 years ago espn2 was showing the Magic The Gathering World Championships

I loved the hard hitting commentary of ESPN's M:tG coverage
Bob: "Jim, if you will notice there is a stack of cards on the table in front of Clarence, that is called his "deck". He has chosen to take a card off the top of the "deck", that is called "drawing" a card. He has brought it up to the cards he is already holding called his "hand".

Jim: "I see there is another person sitting across the table from Clarence, does that mean they will be playing this game against each other?"

Bob: "Yes, Jim, I believe it does"

I remember catching MTG coverage one night at like 2 am and I swear to FSM one of the announcers was doing an awful impersonation of Keith Jackson. "Baaaaaaaaall Lightning!"

I also have many cherished (beer-soaked) memories of Tuesday Night Trivia at the bar, and watching sumo in between the question breaks. I would love to find someone doing broadcasts or finding match feeds online somewhere.

Zombalupagus: degenerate-afro: A lot of the problem is because less Japanese people where choosing sumo and instead chose Basketball or Baseball as their sport of choice so they are trying to close ranks.

I would like to see what a person who could chose to pursue either sumo or basketball looks like physically

Shaq, if he started young, could have easily bulked up to Sumo size. Remember, if you start young enough, you can bulk up to the proper size for Sumo which is one of the things that's not happening now.

Could have been worse. One or both of the wrestlers could have fallen on him.

Great clown Pagliacci's pick-me-up: SharkTrager: Was that one guy white? I don't think I ever saw a white sumo in Japan.

It wasnt until the last decade that whitey broke into the top division. There are a few out there, mainly from Eastern Europe. Of course, as far as foreigners go there have been a few yokazuna: One born in Hawaii (who payed college basketball), One Samoan, and a Mongolian or two.

There are two white Europeans at the Ozeki rank (one step below grand champion): Kotooshu (Bulgaria) and Balto (Estonia). There are also several more from Russia, Georgia, Czech Republic and elsewhere in Eastern Yurp in the top divisions.

What's actually been making the news in Japan recently is that there are two new Japanese Ozeki, since between the Mongolians (Hakuho and Harumafuji currently, plus Asashoryu who had to retire a few years back) and Europeans, the foreigners have had a total lock on the top tiers of the sport. There's only been one Japanese champion in the past 45 tournaments (going back about 7 years).

Sylvia_Bandersnatch: WhyteRaven74: Damn now I miss the days when ESPN would show sumo.

When Fox Sports started regional coverage, they ran a series of straight-played ads such as this one for fake 'foreign' sports from other, to emphasise their local coverage (compared to ESPN's broader global coverage). They also never had any translation or explanation, so you were forced to make up your own. (E.g., Turkish dry-bed highdiving.) Others included South African bike gauntlet, Russian slapfighting, Chinese tree-catching, and Indian blindfolded giant bat fighting. Brilliantly done.

Oh my. Those are wonderful!

Srsly....I'd watch this channel all the time

That must happen a lot. They had a new referee in a jiffy.

Great clown Pagliacci's pick-me-up: Bob: "Jim, if you will notice there is a stack of cards on the table in front of Clarence, that is called his "deck".

Bob, you ignorant slut, that's a library.