Former sumo grand champion Akebono died in early April of heart failure, the sport's governing body said Thursday. He was 54.Akebono, who hailed from Hawaii and became the sport's first foreign-born yokozuna in 1993, had been in a Tokyo hospital. The 11-time grand tournament winner helped fuel a sumo boom in the 1990s, engaging in great battles with hugely popular brothers Wakanohana and Takanohana."He was a rival. He was a friend. The friend with whom I shared joys and sorrows has departed," Wakanohana, now Masaru Hanada, said in a blog post. "It's so sudden that I can't find words for his…READ FULL ARTICLE
