The gods must be smiling. Japan's national sport, which began as an ancient form of religious worship, is muscling its way around the modern world. Today the grand champion of Japan hails from Mongolia, and as U.S. team coach Yoshisada Yonezuka puts it, "Big guys smash into each other" in sumo rings from Poland to Brazil. Elite-level sumo came to the U.S. for the first time in 20 years with a tournament this month in Las Vegas. Now there's the Sumo Ultimate Masters Organization (S.U.M.O.), a new U.S.-based league with global aspirations and the backing of the International Sumo Federation, one...
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