Hughes praises Calgary, but can’t resist trash talk
WINNIPEG Charleston Hughes couldn’t help himself.
The former Calgary Stampeders defensive end was traded in February and landed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Addressing the media on Friday at CFL Week in Winnipeg, Hughes kept it classy when he spoke about Calgary, the Stampeders organization and his former teammates.
Clearly, he’s not looking to burn bridges.
When it came to Bo Levi Mitchell, though, Hughes couldn’t resist stirring the pot.
“I’m going to get him,” Hughes said with his usual big smile. “He’s probably somewhere, as a matter of fact he’s in Hawaii right now enjoying the sun (and) basking in all the ambience of rain at 3 o’clock every day, and he’s preparing.
“(He’s) doing all his non-throwing activities, his scrambling activities, getting ready for me coming after him.”
Hughes has never hesitated to throw out a little trash talk, but this is the first time it’s ever been directed at the Stampeders and there’s absolutely no question he’ll have a little extra spring in his step when he lines up against the Stamps for the first time in his career.
A day earlier, Jerome Messam — who also left the Stamps for the Riders this off-season — admitted that there would definitely be some extra spice when the two teams meet this year, especially as offensive lineman Derek Dennis returned to Calgary after a year in Regina.
Hughes knows that, too, and he made it clear that he’s more than willing to stoke the fires of an already red-hot rivalry between the Riders and Stampeders. It’s something Hughes has always done, he just happens to be lining up in different colours this time around.
“Whether I’m still there or not, which I’m not, it’s their fault,” Hughes said. “I’m the best thing in Calgary that happened on defence since 2008. All the work and dedication that I put into that team, it stays there.”
To be fair to Hughes, most of his 10 minute interview on Friday was spent saying positive things about Calgary and the Stampeders. He spoke proudly of the fans who have named their dogs after him and said he was looking forward to meeting one recent newborn whose parents named him Charleston.
“It’s a good feeling to know that you had that kind of impact on a city. It feels great. I enjoyed all 10 years that I played in Calgary.”
Like a lot of people, though, Hughes did wonder whether the Stamps would have traded him had they known he was going to wind up with a division rival like Saskatchewan.
Initially, Stamps GM/president John Hufnagel dealt Hughes to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but they flipped him later the same day to the Riders. “I’m pretty sure they didn’t want me to be in the West, but hello!,” Hughes said. “I’m back. It worked in my favour, not theirs.”
For his part, Hufnagel didn’t exactly deny that seeing Hughes land with the Riders was a bit of a surprise.
“After I traded Charleston, I had no control over him,” Hufnagel said at a press conference Friday afternoon. “Obviously, I didn’t want to email him to (Riders head coach Chris Jones).”