Sumo Kaboom

Leslie and Laurie Collins, Texan sisters and diehard sumo fans, talk about all things sumo.

About the show

Sumo Kaboom!

A weekly podcast dedicated to our favorite sport - sumo wrestling. We chat about tournaments, current events, history and our favorite wrestlers.

We are performers, improvisers, and creators and have absolutely no sumo training. But, we are huge sumo fans.

Having lived in Japan, Leslie loves the history and traditions of sumo. She also has a deep love for sumo karaoke singers. Laurie is fascinated by sumo wrestler fandom, the sumo training regimen and physicality of the sport.

Together, we serve up exciting sumo treats for sumo-curious fans. We share an enthusiasm for sumo and like all sisters, we work amazingly well together. All of the time. There are never any issues. Ever.

We also occasionally send out sumo related content. It is NOT hard-hitting sumo journalism and is usually very silly. If you want to receive our writing about all things sumo or receive notification when Sumo BINGO cards are available, join our Substack below. We won't ever share your info, because we hate spam, too.

Sumo Kaboom on social media

Episodes

  • 176: Sumo Scandals Part 3 - Drinking and Drugs

    August 23rd, 2023  |  52 mins 16 secs
    cannabis, drinking, drugs, haramafuji, pot, scandal

    Yet another sumo scandal. This week, it's drugs and drinking.

  • 175: Sumo Scandals Part 2 - Match-Fixing

    August 16th, 2023  |  44 mins 1 sec
    freakanomics, match-fixing, media, scandal, statistics, yaocho

    Accusations of match-fixing in sumo are nothing new.

  • 174: Sumo Scandals Part 1 - Gambling and the Yakuza

    August 9th, 2023  |  42 mins 19 secs
    betting, gambling, scandal, sumo scandal, yakuza

    Part 1 in a series about the scandals of sumo.

  • 173: Chiyonokuni's Retirement

    August 2nd, 2023  |  42 mins 23 secs
    chiyonokuni, dave, sumo mainichi

    We're chatting about the recent retirement of Chiyonokuni with one of his biggest fans - Dave from the Sumo Mainichi Podcast.

  • 172: Days 11-15 of the July 2023 Basho

    July 27th, 2023  |  57 mins 29 secs
    basho, hoshoryu, playoff

    Did we like how the July basho ended? We sure did!

  • 171: Days 4-10 of the July Basho

    July 18th, 2023  |  44 mins 27 secs
    basho, days 4-10, hokutofuji, july, nishikigi

    A few of our favorite moments and story lines from the July basho.

  • 170: Shonnanoumi and Days 1-3 of the July Tournament

    July 11th, 2023  |  50 mins 25 secs
    2023, july, nishikigi, shonnanoumi, terunofuji, tournament

    A primer on Shonnanoumi and a break down of what happened on days 1 - 3 of the July tournament.

  • 169: Gonoyama and Hakuoho

    July 5th, 2023  |  50 mins 37 secs
    gonoyama, hakuoho

    Who ARE Gonoyama and Hakuoho?

  • 168: Takarafuji and Tsurugisho

    June 28th, 2023  |  49 mins 14 secs
    takarafuji, tsurugisho

    Who ARE these pro sumo wrestlers? One remains a bit of a mystery while the other is a character and a half.

  • 167: The "Dead Body" Rule

    June 21st, 2023  |  35 mins 57 secs
    dead body, dead body rule, exception, rule, rules, sumo rule

    What is this rule we hear about sometimes in sumo?

  • 166: The Sumo Belly Touching Event

    June 14th, 2023  |  47 mins 10 secs
    belly, fan event, hiradoumi, ichiyamamoto, karaoke, rubbing, sadanoumi, shodai, singing, sumo, ura

    Oh Ma Lawd. The Belly Touching Sumo Event was everything we needed and more. Karaoke, giggles, awkwardness, and oh so much fun to watch.

  • 165: New Chapters for Kiribayama... I mean, Kirishima

    June 7th, 2023  |  41 mins 52 secs
    ikioi, kakuryu, kiribayama, kirishima

    Sumo wrestlers step into new chapters of life.

  • 164: Day 11-15 of the May Basho

    May 31st, 2023  |  1 hr 5 mins
    basho, kiribayama, ozeki, sekiwake, terunofuji

    Who won BINGO? Who won the basho?

  • 163: May Basho Days 4 - 10

    May 23rd, 2023  |  1 hr 2 mins
    2023, days 4-10, may, sumo

    Sumo breakdown!! We're chatting about the boys of sumo in this day by day breakdown of the May 2023 sumo tournament.

  • 162: Days 1-3 of the May Basho 2023

    May 16th, 2023  |  32 mins 37 secs
    basho, days 1-3, may

    Our favorite moments from days 1-3 of the May basho.

  • 161: Ichinojo Retires and Henka Stats

    May 10th, 2023  |  39 mins 19 secs
    henka, henka king, ichinojo, retirement

    Ichinojo's surprise retirement and henka stats!