(Actually we're not experiencing technical difficulties--we just felt like saying that after seeing that videograb!) Sumo Senshi Event & Captions Contest! Recently our friend "Rini" Yoshiaki put together a page detailing a "Sumo Senshi" event televised in Japan as part of the "Oozumou rikishi dai undou kai." "Undou kai" is a sports festival organized by schools every October. This "undou kai" was staged by professional athletes and was meant to show sports figures in activities other than in their sport. It is an opportunity for athletes to have some fun and not to compete with one another. It also gives fans the chance to see their favorite players in unusual and (hopefully) humorous circumstances. This event was held on February 9, 1999 at the Tokyo Taiikukan in the Sendagawa district of Tokyo. About 800 professional sumo wrestlers took part along with Gyouji (Sumo referees) and staff. Around 1,000 people total participated. After all the participants marched together into the arena, Yokozuna Takanohana opened the event followed by Chiyotaiku who lead the athletes in their oath. They held a relay race, a three-legged race and other contests which are very unsuitable for sumos. (The more unsuitable the better.) This lead up to the masquerade. Among the presentations in the masquerade were "Titanic," "Aladdin," "Berusaiyu no Bara" ("Rose of Versailles"), "Sailormoon," and one about kindergardeners. Boy, Renee's put on weight! Yes, this is Zenshinyama playing Sailor Jupiter, but we wonder who played Rose from "Titanic?" Spot Your Favorite Wrestler! Sailor Moon - Touki Sailor Mercury - Chiyotaikai Sailor Mars - Chiyotenzan Sailor Jupiter - Zenshinyama Chibi Moon - Asanowaka Tuxedo Mask - Mitoizumi When we asked "Rini" which network televised this event, he replied, "TV Asahi, of course!" That must have given their viewers quite a jolt! Imagine hearing that there might be a new series and turning on your TV to see this?! ("I Liked the old series better!" or "Must get heart going again!" or "Maybe Saban took over the show?") But enough about what Japanese viewers might have thought, we'd like to hear from you! But Is It Really A Sighting? This one's not too hidden for an unsuspecting populace--which is what makes a Sighting best and more fun! But it was a Sighting nevertheless! So... Special thanks to Brett for reporting seeing clips of the event on E! Entertainment's Talk Soup and to Justin Panczuk for being the first to keep us up-to-date on Rini's pages! Specifically, we're going to hold a contest in a week or two for fans to send us captions for any of the photos you see on Rini's page. You can write captions for all or just some of the photos. You can change the order in which you see the photos posted but should identify them by their URL. Only one Email (the first Email) from your address will be accepted. Entries will not be posted until the contest ends a few weeks later--so there'll be no copying or improving on someone else's entry! Members of the "Save Our Sailors" team will pick the funniest entries. (We hope to come up with some prizes!) This contest is meant to be fun so don't spaz out on us for additional rules and stuff like that. We'll be fair as we go along! We laughed so hard at these pictures that we just had to do something fun with them!