In 1998, TBS (no Monster9 yet) published 筋肉番付 公式データブック完全版 (Kinniku Banzuke Koushiki Data Book Kanzenban or Muscle Ranking Official Data Book Perfect Edition). The book included some photos, description of the events from the show, data and recaps from certain episodes and other information that they thought someone might desperately need. Remember, this was almost two decades ago so the internet was just a place for crappy geocities pages and AOL chat rooms.
(click on scans to see larger versions)
Like SASUKE, Kinniku Banzuke always featured a mix of amateur and pro athletes, celebrities, your mom, possibly your dog and whoever else they could grab off the streets.
(clockwise from the top right: Ronaldo, Michael Jordan, various Japanese baseball pitchers, Ronaldo, Carl Lewis, Charles Barkley)
(clockwise from the top right: Scottie Pippen, Yuuji Oda, the cast of the first SASUKE, Sir Charles and MJ, bicycle pants)
Currently, Kinniku Banzuke is being shown in the US as Unbeatable Banzuke but certain episodes and events are not part of the package of episodes being aired or marketed overseas. 9 Hoops is one of the events that has not aired. However, we know from the
Sportsman No. 1 special that aired this January that Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley (although Barkley's attempts were not shown) gave 9 Hoops a shot (see what I did there?). They weren't the only NBA players though.
Sorry for the weird looking scans.
According to tables in the book:
Version I
9 - Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls
4 - Charles Barkley Houston Rockets
Version II
8 - Darnell Valentine Retired, former Trailblazers/Clippers/Cavaliers
6 - Kobe Bryant LA Lakers
5 - Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets
5 - John Starks New York Knicks
4 - Clyde Drexler Houston Rockets
3 - Moses Malone Retired, former half of the NBA
2 - Scottie Pippen Chicago Bulls
Sprinter Carl Lewis (from the 2nd scan) got a 3 on Version I.
MJ wasn't the only perfect for Version I. Japanese basketball player Hideaki Toyama 外山英明 and a former Denmark basketball player named Anders Petersen ペーターセン・アナス got all nine biscuits in the basket.
For Version II, the only listed perfect was a third-year high school student named Hitoshi Nakamura 中村仁.
Unfortunately, the book only goes up to 1998, is inconsistent with facts and tends to ignore certain useful information (like air dates). Still, it's a nice little look at stuff that hasn't been seen in a while. More to come!
