Longtime Star Phoenix Sports Journalist retires

by Michael P.J. Kennedy, Ph.D.

For three decades, Saskatoon Star Phoenix sports journalist Darren Zary could be found most weekends documenting and interpreting Huskie sports at Rutherford Rink, the Physical Athletic Complex (PAC), or, in recent years, at Merlis Belsher Place (MBP). Indefatigable and dedicated in his efforts to cover all the weekend competition on campus, he would be seen in the media area at MBP writing about a game live while simultaneously consulting his laptop for updates from another contest at the PAC. Despite the challenges of multi-sport competition and unrealistic deadlines, the seemingly ubiquitous Zary would produce repeatedly solid stories about Green and White sports on a regular basis.

Writing well is a talent in itself, but for one individual to do so for a number of sports on a Friday night making sure that all the relevant statistics are included as well as capturing the individual and team essence in the competition, all within a strict deadline, is a rare competence. Darren Zary accomplished this feat week after week for thirty years covering Huskie sports. In recent years, although the deadlines may have been altered, he was virtually THE sports department of the Star Phoenix as more and more stories in the sports section were about sports in other cities via wire service or out-of-province writers. Yet, the Humboldt-born Zary, kept writing about Saskatoon teams, whether the Blades, Hilltops, or other organizations and Saskatoon based athletes, and his emphasis was often on Huskies. Readers in Saskatoon and region via hard copy or online depended on Darren’s insightful stories to better understand the workings of various teams and the unique personalities of many athletes who performed in the city.

His interest in sports stemmed in large part from his father who was a high school physical education teacher. In his last filed story for the Star Phoenix, Darren noted that “sports naturally were in my blood. Writing about sports, I discovered, would be just another outlet.” Indeed, although he played a variety of sports in secondary school, it was writing about sports that became his career.

After school at Humboldt Collegiate and then St. Peters College, he attended University of Saskatchewan where he wrote about men’s hockey and men’s volleyball for The Sheaf. That early journalism was followed by positions with the Humboldt Journal (two years) and Battlefords News-Optimist and Battlefords Telegraph (eight years). Although he did intermittent freelance work with the Star Phoenix, his first permanent position with the Saskatoon daily was in 1996. By his own count, he has written “over 7,000 stories for the Star Phoenix.”

For fans of Huskie hockey, his presence at Rutherford and then Merlis Belsher Place was an expected part of any weekend series against Canada West opponents. He will be missed in the years ahead, as his reporting games and writing features about individual Huskie players has brought attention to both the hockey programme and the unique personalities who have comprised the teams over the past decades. The retiring scribe’s work has enabled the general public, alumni, and hockey enthusiasts in general to have a better picture of and appreciation for the quality of Huskie hockey and U Sports competition.

As reporting of local sports has shrunk among the various media outlets in Saskatoon and the country as a whole, the loss of Darren Zary among the pages of the Star Phoenix will be one felt by fans of the Dogs. Zary, and Bob Florence before him, are two of the best sports journalists in the history of Saskatoon. Their absence in the “telling of the Huskie story” in print form is problematic, as more and more individuals look to often less knowledgeable and less talented writers online who subjectively report and comment upon Huskie hockey and other inter-university sports. Although there are still broadcasting individuals of high quality like Wray Morrison reporting Huskie hockey, the retirement of print journalist Darren Zary is a loss which has the potential to affect Huskie hockey’s media presence in the community.

For his years of presenting Huskie hockey and other sports in print, many thanks to Darren for his diligent research, cogent observations, engaging interviews, and quality writing. Congratulations on your retirement . You will be missed.