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FOOTBALL: Starks' comeback close to complete
AMHERST — James Starks told us Tuesday that he’s almost completely recovered from August shoulder surgery. Then he showed us.
The Niagara Falls native was asked to reflect on his football journey, which took him from recruited quarterback, to redshirting defensive back, to record-setting tailback, and now, NFL prospect.
“(The NFL) was always my goal, but now it’s finally here, coming to reality. It’s kind of bittersweet, you know. I wanted it so bad, but then I was out for so long,” he said.
Starks then displayed the range of motion in his repaired shoulder by reaching back to clasp the top of his head.
“I don’t even know how to explain it,” he said. “I’m just happy to be in the position I am. I couldn’t pray for nothing more. I think God blessed me with an opportunity to do what I do, and I’m just happy.”
Starks sat out his entire senior season after a labral tear in his right shoulder was discovered days before the opener. Since he had redshirted for non-medical reasons as a freshman in 2005, he had no eligibility remaining.
In three years at UB, Starks set school records for rushing yards (3,140) and touchdowns (34). He had the best single season in school history as a junior, helping the Bulls win a conference championship and play in a bowl game for the first time ever, and entered this year on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Memorial trophy, given to the nation’s top running back.
UB went 5-7 this season, and though the combination of Brandon Thermilus, Mario Henry, Ike Nduka and Jeffvon Gill did an admirable job, nobody could replace Starks’ gamebreaking ability.
Starks said if the team was invited to a bowl game, he was planning to play.
“Definitely. That’s why I was working so hard,” he said. “I was cheering them on. I thought we would’ve went to the bowl game, and I was trying to be ready for that.”
Instead, Starks wants to prove he’s fully recovered by playing in the Senior Bowl and performing at the NFL Scouting Combine.
“Hopefully, (scouts) believe in me,” he said. “I believe in myself and I’m looking forward to just an opportunity. That’s all I can ask for. I’ve been working my tail off, so I’ll be ready for it.”
He and Naaman Roosevelt, the St. Joe’s graduate who arrived on campus a year after Starks and broke all of the receiving records, are both being projected as possible mid-round draft choices.
“When we’re just sitting around talking, it’s kind of hard for us to picture it,” Starks said. “We haven’t made it yet, but just to have the opportunity is a shocker.”
When coach Turner Gill was hired after the 2005 season, Starks had just spent his freshman season practicing with the defensive backs, and Roosevelt was being recruited by other schools to play cornerback despite setting local passing records in high school. Gill immediately realized that Starks and Roosevelt were two of the Bulls most electrifying playmakers, and it would be a waste of talent to have them chasing players, instead of being the ones getting chased.
“Coach Turner, I’m grateful for him because he put me in a great position to succeed,” Starks said. “He had faith in me when others didn’t, or some coaches didn’t know where to put me. I guess God led him to put me at running back, and that was where I should have been.”
Starks also expressed gratitude for his local supporters.
“I’d like to say thanks to everyone who believed in me,” he said. “Western New York, all you guys who had faith in me. I’ll do my best with whatever opportunities are given to me.”
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Bleumink leads Porter Cup after first-round 64
LEWISTON — Luke Bleumink weathered the wind and beat the rain to take a one-shot lead on the opening day of the 52nd Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club.
Bleumink, 25, an Australian playing here for the third year in a row, shot a 6-under-par 64 on Wednesday highlighted by an eagle on the third hole.
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NFCC rolls out repaired greens at Porter Cup
LEWISTON — Heading into the Fourth of July weekend, Steve Denn was confident that this year’s Porter Cup was going to be a success.
Then the sprinklers at Niagara Falls Country Club started spewing fertilizer on the carefully manicured greens.
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Flynn surgery deemed successful
Niagara Falls native Jonny Flynn underwent successful surgery on his left hip Tuesday in Colorado that could sideline him for the start of his second season in the NBA.
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It's all work for Gailey in bid to rebuild Bills
After a little over a month off since the end of minicamps, the work for the Bills begins in earnest Thursday when the team opens training camp at St. John Fisher College in suburban Rochester.
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Wilson's Geltz promoted to Double A
Wilson native Steve Geltz continued his climb in the Los Angeles Angels farm system last week when he was promoted to the team’s affiliate in Arkansas.
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McDonald dances for cameras, delivers for Power
Even though McDonald’s life mostly revolves around baseball, he has one interesting hobby that would seem quite out of the ordinary for a baseball player — making dance videos.
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Report: Flynn to miss 3-4 months
According to a Yahoo! Sports writer, Niagara Falls product Jonny Flynn won’t be in the lineup when his second National Basketball Association season starts.
Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports said via Twitter on Monday night that Flynn will likely miss three to four months due to a hip problem that will require surgery.
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Petrosian, locals excited about Cup
When Matt Petrosian got the call — the one he’d dreamed about as a little kid growing up just below the hill in Lewiston — he was standing, appropriately enough, in a golf course pro shop.
The Lewiston-Porter graduate works at nearby Niagara Frontier Country Club in Youngstown and when Marty Shimmel of the Porter Cup organizing committee called to see if Petrosian might be interested in participating in this week’s tournament, he got an emotional reaction.
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New book brings Porter Cup history to life
Former Gazette sports editor’s narrative covers tourney’s first 50 years
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Locals gleam with Empire State Games medals
The Western-most Westerners — athletes from the Niagara Falls area — helped the host region win the medal count at the Empire State Games, which concluded Sunday.
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