O'Leary: Hughes brings work ethic, results to the Argos

The ideal, picturesque answer would start with Charleston Hughes hearing a voice in the middle of the night.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.cfl.ca/2021/02/08/oleary-hughes-brings-work-ethic-results-argos/

There is a big smelly rat in Toronto. All these high end free agents signing in Toronto with all other teams going lower on the cap. Whereas Toronto is spending at or above the cap. The CFL is doing it again. Using a team that very few Torontonians don't even know there is a CFL team as the anchor for the league. I smell a rat. A big smelly CFL rat.

Has there ever been an official explanation as to why the Riders did not want to re-sign Hughes? I know he is aging but will his replacement be better? Cap space issue? You always make a way to keep your best players.

You smell a rat and I smell something fishy in the flatland.

Your meaning is…

I’m not sure I can believe what the Riders are saying for not keeping Hughes. Dead rats and dead fish both smell bad

I see what you're saying. Hughes is older with a big salary. My point is that Toronto and the CFL are in cahoots stacking a team no Torontonian cares about. Just as they did with the so called Ricky Ray trade. The CFL is screwing over the rest of the league in my opinion.

Well no matter how you look at it, the Argos are going to have no problem rushing the QB's this season!!

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Truth be told, the CFL is better if the Argos are a good team. The level of hatred around the league for them helps put people in the stands and that is good. At the same time, after several poor years and bad management decisions following the last Grey Cup, something dramatic had to be done. Clemons and Murphy are doing just that. Now, as for obtaining Hughes, when a player gets a D.U.I., for some reason, the team and/or league feels the need to punish him, as if the personal humiliation isn’t enough. I thought then that his stay with the Riders would be short. I am a criminal defense attorney and have handled lots of DUIs. Because of licensing requirements at work, people do lose their job or have to be given a different position, but private business does not routinely suspend someone for this unless there were public aspects that might reflect negatively on the company. In pro football, is some form of substance abuse uncommon as a player’s career winds down or concludes, often due to pain medications or efforts to manage the pain that accrues from playing this violent game? I think the player should be handled as a member of the family that needs help and support. Taking away the game they love and a pay check or two is mean-spirited and misguided. That is my take. Everyone have a good day and stay safe.

As a lifetime CFL fan and seeing what the CFL has done to stabilize the Argo team and owners over the years. I call Bull. The so called "fans" of the Argos, are just that. There are no real fans. Torontonians couldn't find the stadium if they stood in it at centre field. Ripping off the rest of the league, and pretending that there is an actual fan base in Toronto is bogus. Torontonians think because they have the leafs (54 years and counting) , the Raptors and the Blue Jays (29 years and counting) that Torontonians are big league. They don't support the CANADIAN game because they think they are above what makes Canada. Aleague of our own.