I wanted to talk a little bit about sumo, but I couldn't find a good thread for it and figured it might not be that popular by itself, so consider this a catch-all thread for sports that can't quite carry a thread on their own, yet.
So, anyway, what got me wanting to talk about sumo is that a young man from Texas just entered the maezumo (newcomer tournament that will determine initial rank). His name is Ichiro Young but will take the sumo name Wakaichiro which I'm told means young (person) ichiro. I wish this guy a long and successful professional career!
There was a Canadian sumo wrestler who is looking to break into the professional ranks by the name of Brodi Henderson. But it looks like a shoulder injury did him in. :(
So, anyway, what got me wanting to talk about sumo is that a young man from Texas just entered the maezumo (newcomer tournament that will determine initial rank). His name is Ichiro Young but will take the sumo name Wakaichiro which I'm told means young (person) ichiro. I wish this guy a long and successful professional career!
There was a Canadian sumo wrestler who is looking to break into the professional ranks by the name of Brodi Henderson. But it looks like a shoulder injury did him in. :(
Oh, and here is a vid of the most recent day's matches at the highest division of pro sumo:
e: the highest ranked wrestlers (yokozuna) are usually towards the end of the day
e: the highest ranked wrestlers (yokozuna) are usually towards the end of the day
A highlight reel of matches from this past tournament's (or is it the past year; can't tell) sumo bouts:
Y'all, check out this Hakuho taunt in his match from a few days ago. It's fucking amazing.
"Come on, bro. We both tired of this slapping bullshit. Come at me, I'm growing bored."
"Come on, bro. We both tired of this slapping bullshit. Come at me, I'm growing bored."
Saw this while looking for something yesterday.
I love Sumo. September basho coming soon. Thinking of going to Fukuoka for the November basho.
Also, Vuelta Espana just starting. Will post in here because I know cycling talk pisses footy off lol. Hoping my boy Aru can find his form of a few years back. Nibali already dead, but he was mainly using this as prep for the worlds.
I love Sumo. September basho coming soon. Thinking of going to Fukuoka for the November basho.
Also, Vuelta Espana just starting. Will post in here because I know cycling talk pisses footy off lol. Hoping my boy Aru can find his form of a few years back. Nibali already dead, but he was mainly using this as prep for the worlds.
By blackace Go To Postby the way Ichiro seems to be a good kid!that makes me smile :)
By FootbalIFan Go To PostJust realised its an old thread, thought kibner posted 5 times in a row lolwell, he kinda did lol
Oh, if anyone wants to follow sumo but doesn't have a TV channel for it or want to sift through YouTube videos, there is the official mobile app called Grand Sumo for a small monthly fee.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/50025543
Kipchoge is a hero of mine, so glad to see him finally break 2 as it is something he has wanted for a while.
I'm not the biggest fan of this type of gimmick, but amazing achievement none the less.
Eliud Kipchoge has become the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours, beating the mark by 20 seconds.
The Kenyan, 34, covered the 26.2 miles (42.2km) in one hour 59 minutes 40 seconds in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria on Saturday.
It will not be recognised as the official marathon world record because it was not in open competition and he used a team of rotating pacemakers.
Kipchoge is a hero of mine, so glad to see him finally break 2 as it is something he has wanted for a while.
I'm not the biggest fan of this type of gimmick, but amazing achievement none the less.
By Kibner Go To PostWhat do they mean by "rotating pacemakers"? I can guess but…
They bring in new pacemakers to help keep the pace up. Usually once the initial pacemakers are done then it is up to the runners to manage their own pace. It was also done to help with drafting.
By Shanks D Zoro Go To PostThey bring in new pacemakers to help keep the pace up. Usually once the initial pacemakers are done then it is up to the runners to manage their own pace. It was also done to help with drafting.Gotcha. Thanks!
England vs Australia is in 35 minutes, the first of the Rugby World Cup quarter finals. Don't care for or understand rugby, but I'll watch England in the knockout games when I have nothing better to do.
By Hitch Go To PostEngland vs Australia is in 35 minutes, the first of the Rugby World Cup quarter finals. Don't care for or understand rugby, but I'll watch England in the knockout games when I have nothing better to do.
I should give Ireland a watch when they play.
By Shanks D Zoro Go To PostI should give Ireland a watch when they play.
Oh well.
By Laboured Go To PostOh well.
Fucking joke of a performance. .
Come on the Welsh.
Rooting for them to win it now that Ireland are out. Would be a great send off for Warren Gatland.
Rooting for them to win it now that Ireland are out. Would be a great send off for Warren Gatland.
By Shanks D Zoro Go To PostLooks like I better find a new team to root for.Are you a curse? Lol
By Kibner Go To PostAre you a curse? Lol
Wales won in the end haha. France had a player sent off and that was enough to let Wales make a comeback.
Both my home nations are out though, so I might be curse.
By Shanks D Zoro Go To PostBoth my home nations are out though, so I might be curse.What about England?
By FortuneFaded Go To PostWhat about England?
Come on New Zealand
By Shanks D Zoro Go To PostCome on New ZealandHahah
England were phenomenal. Just pure power and speed. Shut down everything NZ tried in attack. There's no other team in rugby who can play the way they just did. South Africa might be able to match them for power, but England's defence Is much better overall.
Does the standard of international rugby teams undulate a lot more than football teams?
Feel like England have been good, bad, decent, great over the last three years or so, which is a pretty rapid shifting of standard for one of the top nations
Feel like England have been good, bad, decent, great over the last three years or so, which is a pretty rapid shifting of standard for one of the top nations
By Hitch Go To PostDoes the standard of international rugby teams undulate a lot more than football teams?Injuries tend to have more of an impact in Union, plus having a highly competitive 6 nations every year means any slight downturn or deviation will be found out straight away, compared to international football where the vast majority of games are against crap teams with no hope
Feel like England have been good, bad, decent, great over the last three years or so, which is a pretty rapid shifting of standard for one of the top nations
Good point, you only find out how good a football team really is every two years. Maybe the Nations League will change that a bit, as silly as it seemed when announced. Qualifiers and friendlies aren't much indication.
Are test series a regular occurrence in rugby? Judging by the Ireland-New Zealand one last year, those are taken very seriously as well.
Are test series a regular occurrence in rugby? Judging by the Ireland-New Zealand one last year, those are taken very seriously as well.
By Hitch Go To PostGood point, you only find out how good a football team really is every two years. Maybe the Nations League will change that a bit, as silly as it seemed when announced. Qualifiers and friendlies aren't much indication.
Are test series a regular occurrence in rugby? Judging by the Ireland-New Zealand one last year, those are taken very seriously as well.
Very regular. 6 nations and Rugby championship every year. Then summer test series and autumn test series every year. lions every 4 years.
By Laboured Go To PostYou absolutely hate to see it.He’s not going to be allowed back in the country.
So I think this is probably the spot to post this. I love to surf, been doing it since I was around 10. People usually think California / Australia / Hawaii or some other tropical location for surfing. The endless summer. But some dudes out there really take things to the extreme when looking for empty unridden waves. No crowds. No parking. Never been surfed before type stuff.
Theses dues surf the arctic. The documentary is amazing. They end up night surfing under the aurora borealis at one point. Simply crazy. There's some really great shots in the below trailer for it.
Other locations people might not assume has good surf. Ireland. Yes these massive waves are in the cold dark rocky as fuck waters of Ireland.
Theses dues surf the arctic. The documentary is amazing. They end up night surfing under the aurora borealis at one point. Simply crazy. There's some really great shots in the below trailer for it.
Other locations people might not assume has good surf. Ireland. Yes these massive waves are in the cold dark rocky as fuck waters of Ireland.
By FligureSkatingFan Go To PostIs this the thread in which I should be proselytizing about figure skating?Sure! It's a catch-all thread for any sport until discussion of that sport reaches a point that it can sustain a thread by itself.
e: i updated the thread title to make that a little more obvious
By FligureSkatingFan Go To PostIs this the thread in which I should be proselytizing about figure skating?Yes
Who is the latest prodigy
By FootbalIFan Go To PostYesLet's begin with Alexandra Trusova - the same young Russian lady I spammed the footy thread with 1 1/2 years ago. Back then, at the age of 13, she became only the second woman to ever land a quad, the quadruple salchow (the first was a Japanese woman by the name of Miki Ando who landed precisely one quad salchow in competition, back all the way in 2002). Soon thereafter Trusova became the first woman to jump two quads in the same program, and, even more interestingly, the first woman to land two different quads - a quad sal and a quad toe. She also went on to win the last two consecutive junior world championships. Without any exaggeration, her quads catalyzed a revolution in ladies figure skating - and she did it all while being too young to compete against senior competition.
Who is the latest prodigy
Now Trusova is 15, just old enough to make her debut against the seniors, and she's setting new records with every single skate she does. In her first two competitions this year, she's already twice broken the world record for highest free skate score and highest overall score. And those two quads? It's now up to four - including three different quads, the sal, the toe, and the lutz. She jumps them in combination. She jumps them in the second half for bonus points. She regularly outscores all the men at competitions. It's unlike anything the ladies' side of the sport has ever seen.
Here's her at the Japan Open, a more fun, less competitive event that takes place each year just before the Grand Prix series begins (and, in case you don't recognize it, that's Daenerys's music from Game of Thrones to set the mood):
To put her performance here in perspective, she not only beat the reigning ladies' Olympic and world champion, Alina Zagitova, but had she been competing against the men, she would've beat all but one of them, the current record holder and reigning two-time world champion, Nathan Chen, whom she happens to match in the number of quads landed. It's just unprecedented - and it's terrifying the traditionalists to the point that they're talking about completely rewriting the rulebook to squash her impact on the entire future of the sport.
Then there's Anna Shcherbakova, Trusova's teammate, fellow 'quadster', and also a senior debutante this season. Anna became, last season, only the third woman to ever land a fully rotated quad, the quad lutz; but while Trusova keeps adding quad after quad, Shcherbakova still has 'only' the quad lutz. Let's not discount that accomplishment, however, because it was still enough to win the senior Russian nationals last year (a competition arguably more competitive than the world championship itself), against a field that included Trusova, Zagitova, and former world champion Evgenia Medvedeva. She beat every top Russian woman in the entire world, and she did it at only 14. And there are rumors that she's now landing a second, different quad in practice.
Her style of skating is completely different from Alexandra's. While Trusova is famous for her power, Anna is known more for her musicality and flow. She's softer, more emotive, more elegant. She's the perfect counter to the argument that Trusova's quad revolution is making ladies' skating more like much of the men's competitions - artless affairs with heaps of big jumps.
Here's Shcherbakova at Skate America a few weeks ago. Despite a much-less-than-ideal short program, she had this amazing free skate to trounce all of the other competitors, including former world champion, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, former US champion, Bradie Tennell, and reigning Japanese champion, Kaori Sakamoto. (Apologies on the video quality, because I was trying to find something that wouldn't be geoblocked for large areas of the globe.)
And to round out the amazing new trio of Russian senior debutantes, there's Alena Kostornaia. A fellow training mate of Trusova, Shcherbakova, and Zagitova under the current czarina of ladies skating, coach Eteri Tutberidze, Kostornaia is occasionally overlooked because she's not jumping any quads or triple lutz-triple loop combos, or anything else that has been winning most competitions in the past few years. What she has instead is immaculate grace, wonderful theatricality, and probably the best skating skills of anyone on the planet right now. Figure skating is both art and sport, and Kostornaia is nothing if not an artist.
Unfortunately, because of the technical prowess of Trusova and Shcherbakova, last season Kostornaia had to rely on mistakes by those two to beat them in direct competition. When they skated clean, she'd finish third; but when they made mistakes, like the Junior Grand Prix Final last year, she could win through her performance scores. How would that work, though, in the world of the seniors, where 'consistency' and 'maturity' artificially inflate the performance scores of so many other skaters? And where Trusova is now landing four quads, Shcherbakova is training more quads, and a few other ladies are beginning to land them in practice? And when she's coming off an injury that prematurely ended her previous season before she could compete at the European or world championships? Those were the concerns of every Kostornaia fan before the start of the season.
Here's her at the Finlandia Trophy a few weeks ago, silencing those worries:
Those first two jumps? They're absolutely massive triple axels - something she'd never landed in competition before, and something no one knew she was even training. They're not quite as rare or valuable as quads, but they're close; and when they're jumped that well (the first one, the one in combination, is possibly the best triple axel ever jumped by a woman - even fellow elite skaters were astonished), the execution quickly closes the gap to the quads. And her performance scores continued to impress, even against the seniors (her short program at Finlandia, for example, was the highest score ever for a debuting senior, and that's without any high-value jumps like the triple axel). Her overall score at Finlandia was already high enough to have won all the big competitions in seniors last year - the Grand Prix Final, the European Championship, and the World Championship - but will she be able to take down Trusova and Shcherbakova?
Then there's the next 'generation'. While the aforementioned three have progressed to seniors, a new crop of junior prodigies has also emerged - and they're especially interesting to follow because they'll turn senior just in time for the 2022 Olympics, just as the current champ, Zagitova, did in 2018. And they're already jumping quads.
Kamila Valieva is another teammate of all three listed above - same country, same rink, same coach. She's 13, just started on the junior circuit, and she already has everyone buzzing because she's supposed to be the promised child: the complete jumper and artist. A few months ago, she became only the fifth lady to ever land a quad in competition, younger than anyone before her to land a fully-rotated quad, and she already has the second highest score in history by a junior - second only to Trusova's last junior skate at the junior world championship earlier this year. Kamila achieves this not only through her jumps, but also through her performance, her connection to the music, her flexibility, and her impressive skating skills. One can only marvel over what she's already accomplished, and imagine where she'll be by the Olympics, with two more years to add and perfect everything.
Here's her free skate from the Junior Grand Prix of Russia a couple months ago - the second highest free skate ever by junior, despite even the fall:
And, finally, the one who could spoil everyone: Alysa Liu. She's the only one on here who isn't a Russian and who doesn't train with Eteri Tutberidze. Also new to the junior circuit, Alysa Liu is an American who skates in the mold of Trusova (in fact, up until Alysa became famous in the US, she always listed Trusova as her role model; now that she's a competitor, her publicist has clearly retrained her to say the proper, American response: Michelle Kwan). Alysa Liu, at the age of 13, already won US nationals last year - largely through the power of her triple axels. And then this season she added the quad lutz. She's now the only woman in history who has landed one of each in competition, and she's only 14. She skates powerfully, she lands massive jumps, and she's the great hope for everyone who doesn't want to see a Russian win the ladies gold medal for the third consecutive Olympic games.
Here's her free skate from the Junior Grand Prix of Poland a couple months ago (note: that "3 Lutz" at the 1:06 mark is actually a quad lutz that the tech panel initially miscalled - because she made it look so effortless):
By Kibner Go To PostSure! It's a catch-all thread for any sport until discussion of that sport reaches a point that it can sustain a thread by itself.At this point, you may as well rename it "Figure Skating 2019-20 | From Russia with Quads", because I'm taking this shit over.
e: i updated the thread title to make that a little more obvious