"Eric Takabayashi" <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote in message >

> Akebono put on a great show. He can take a hit, and he's not afraid of
attacks to his legs. He
> falls down, he gets up, which is rather surprising in itself. Before the
match, I thought it would
> be over for the person who got hit in the knees, but it was a punching
match. We knew he's not
> fast on his feet and tires in a few minutes.
>
> What was too bad was seeing his family watching. I get the impression his
new career is not
> exactly something his wife likes.
>


I got the distinct impression that the presence of Akebono's wife and kids
was more or less part of 'the deal'.  We'll pay you X-million so long as
it's not just you getting a beating but the viewing public also get to see
the missus shed a few tears - I was somewhat reminded of the end of 'Rocky'.

This of course sets up a great tv-special profiling Akebono's attempts to
recover from this humiliation. He gets back into serious training -
including shedding at least 30-40 kgs - and all the time the camera will cut
away to showed pained expressions on his wife's face etc.

Frankly I say good luck to guy.  Make a bundle of money and retire to Hawaii
where he can open up a string of restaurants with Musashimaru.

Did anyone else notice that some form of extreme fighting was broadcast on
three of the networks at the same time last night.  Will this become the
'new' thing to do on New Year's Eve?  Guess it makes for an interesting
alternative to the Red/White song contest - though I'm sure Brett might
disagree - who was your favorite act last night - and did she perform before
9.00PM or afterwards?



-- 
jonathan
--
"Never give a Tyson to ducks"