Sumo Wrestling Is The Lead Story On ESPN.com On May 13 2016 @ 12:35pm PST

The Sumo Matchup Centuries In The Making

The final match of the 2016 Haru Basho — one of six professional sumo tournaments held each year — was a day-15 championship-deciding showdown between the sport’s top yokozuna.1 Hakuho, the White Peng,2 the dominant force in sumo over the past decade, was 13-1 in the tournament and hadn’t lost since his opening match.

If he could beat rival Harumafuji — himself a winner of seven Grand Tournament championships — Hakuho would win a record 36th Emperor’s Cup, about the equivalent of a 24th major in tennis or golf.3 If he lost, he would have to wrestle again (almost immediately) in a tiebreaker against 13-2 ozeki4 Kisenosato, who was waiting ringside.

The shikiri (pre-match ritual) takes several minutes. The wrestlers clap to attract the attention of the gods, lift their hands to show they are unarmed, stomp the ground to scare away demons and throw salt in the ring to purify it. They repeatedly crouch as if about to start the match and then stand up after a few moments of glaring at each other. When they are finally ready, they creep toward their starting stance.

There is no bell. The match starts with a tachi-ai (initial charge), which generally happens the instant the opponents are set.

Harumafuji lunged from his crouch, low, exploding toward Hakuho in an effort to take control of the bout early. Instead, he caught a quick palm to the face — and then air. His momentum carried him clear out of the other side of the ring, like he’d tried to bull-rush a ghost.

The match had lasted one second.

Kisenosato scowled and walked out of the ring area. Commentators didn’t quite know what to say; one of the English announcers let out a long “hmmmmm.” The crowd booed its champion.

(ESPN.com)

Costco, The Undisputed Champion Of The $4 & $5 Lunch Combo

(CavemanCircus.com)

If You Can Afford The Maintanence, It's Worth it

5 Cool-as-Hell Convertibles You Can Buy for Under $6k

1996 Mercedes-Benz SL500

• Price: $4,495
• The SL500 is the epitome of mid-'90s open-air luxurious motoring. It's still a beautiful car today, though, even if rolling on a quartet of mirrors is a bit dated. The white-and-gray combination on this one is timeless, and with 119,000 miles on the clock, there's plenty of life left in it.

Complete list (Thrillist.com)

I Like This Sauce Brand

Which BBQ Sauce Is Right for You?

For the music fan: Stubb's Original

• Located in the heart of Austin's Red River Cultural District, Stubb's Barbecue is more synonymous these days with smoking riffs than smoked meats, with some of the nation’s top talent gracing its two stages. What hasn’t changed is their sauce, which can still seriously level up brisket and sausage thanks to a classic Texas flavor profile driven by molasses, tomato, and black pepper.

Complete list (Thrillist.com)

The Versatility Of A Woman Is Scary

(Bits&Pieces.us)

The Real Truth Is Not In This Article

Best advice for breaking 80 from PGA Professional Rob Labritz

Labritz chalks it up to just two things: iron control and driver control.

To summarize: having control of your driver and control of your irons – specifically the distances they travel – is going to allow you to properly position yourself off the tee, giving you better access to greens and pin positions. Better players hit more greens in regulation.

(PGA.com)

Editors note: It's a lot of luck too. From someone who has an 18 handicap and has broken 80 twice.

I'm Sure They Had No Problems Selling This Package

Here's what a $5,000 ticket can fetch you at the Players

A shiny new hospitality ticket called The Players Club provides a “super premium” experience not previously available during tournament week at TPC Sawgrass. Among the accouterments at one’s disposal inside the 70,000-square-foot clubhouse are an endless array of five-star food from chefs flown in for this week, bottomless adult beverages, access to manicurists and concierges, a $500 merchandise credit and Q&As with anyone from commissioner Tim Finchem (or former commissioner Deane Beman), to NBC analyst Gary Koch, to one of the tour’s rules officials. All it will cost you for the week is a cool $5,000.

It is also another example of the PGA Tour’s flagship event attempting to replicate the gold-standard of hospitality experiences in golf, the Masters, which in 2013 unveiled golf’s snazziest VIP treatment for the well-heeled and connected, Berckmans Place.

(GolfDigest.com)