Matias Saari
Sports writer
Call Matias at 907-459-7591.
Matias Saari, 37, grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan a quarter-mile from Lake Superior. After surviving a teenage year in Chengdu, China (his dad is a retired history professor) and spending many joyful childhood summers in Austria (his mom grew up on a dairy farm in the foothills of the Alps), he attended Michigan State University, where he “earned” a degree in journalism. Saari took his first newspaper job as a general assignment reporter for the Ketchikan Daily News in 1995 not because it was a dream to move to Alaska but because nobody else had offered him a job. Three and a half years later he moved to Fairbanks, thinking he wanted to pursue a creative writing master’s degree at UAF. Really he didn’t, so he tried a panoply of jobs — Census Bureau, herb farm, park ranger, library, used bookstore — before landing as a sportswriter at the News-Miner in April 2006. He lives near the top of Murphy Dome in a humble cabin he built (with much help) that still needs a lot of work. On his eighth attempt, he won the Equinox Marathon in 2007; Saari expects the book he’s begun about the history of the race to take at least as many years to finish.
Recent Stories
- Nanooks impressive in win over Wildcats
- Friday, Oct. 10, 2008
- FAIRBANKS — The only history important to Phil Shoemaker on Thursday was the Alaska Nanooks’ sweep of Central Washington — not his 100th coaching win for the Nanooks or the Wildcats’ recent dominance in the series.
- Nanooks continue to improve in pool
- Friday, Oct. 10, 2008
- FAIRBANKS — Though the Alaska Nanooks have temporarily lost their best swimmer, fourth-year coach Scott Lemley calls this his best team — in part because of a national champion newcomer from Spain.
- Nanooks spikers face toughest tests this year at Patty Center
- Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008
- FAIRBANKS — If the Alaska Nanooks are truly going to challenge for the top of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and a postseason volleyball bid, they’ll need to start beating teams like Central Washington and Western Washington.
- Alaska Nanooks guard Pico leaves team due to back problems
- Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008
- Facing the possibility of paralysis due to severe back problems, guard Bobby Pico of Barrow has left the Alaska Nanooks’ basketball team.
- Wilson shines with victory in first trip to state meet
- Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008
- Kailey Wilson — the lone runner at Kenny Lake High School — had plenty of company from her fans but none from the competition at the finish line in Palmer.
- Tri-Valley boys got an extra boost to reach state cross country meet
- Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008
- Until three weeks ago, Tri-Valley High School’s mission to win the boys Region II cross country championship was impossible.
- Nanooks claim exhibition win over British Columbia
- Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008
- It may have been an exhibition game — and one played on pink ice no less — but that didn’t diminish the importance of the Alaska Nanooks’ 3-2 victory over the University of British Columbia Friday night at the Carlson Center.
- Western Oregon outdigs Nanooks for GNAC volleyball triumph
- Friday, Oct. 3, 2008
- Ninety-three digs would normally be enough for the Alaska Nanooks to win a volleyball match. But not when the opponent gets 109.
- Anchorage Dream set down plans for pro basketball showcase in Fairbanks
- Friday, Oct. 3, 2008
- While lamenting the cancellation of the popular BP Top of the World Classic, the Alaska Dream — a new professional basketball team in Anchorage — sensed an opportunity.
- Kailey Wilson making huge splash in prep cross country
- Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008
- Kailey Wilson is a freshman at Kenny Lake High School with no teammates and no prior experience competing as a runner. Heck, until last week she didn’t even have a Kenny Lake running singlet.