E Streeters Still Got Game. Sorta

The E Streeters made their return to the parquet floor last night in a grand way, helping the Middlesex Community College roundball team to a resounding victory over their collegiate opponents across the river, the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

How did they help? Mainly by staying out of other people's ways. And looking imposing.Pre-game, prior to taking a errant rebound at ground zero, Barry even has Jonathan scratching his head, trying to figure out how to survive this gameBefore the opening buzzer, we're desperately trying to figure out how we can avoid making fools of ourselves out on the court. Or suffering a debilitating, career-ending injury.From the opening tip-off, things seemed under controlThanks to tenacious defense, of courseSwarming defense, in fact

A veritable WALL of defense - can't you just feel the desperation of the ball-handler when faced with that formidable pair?And of course, the occasional dominant reboundIn the end, MCC walked away with a win, clearly the result of infallable coaching. That, and the fact we had enough subs to keep us all from sucking too much wind against a much younger UML squad.

As always, a pleasure going into battle with the extended E Streeter family, seen here looking all kinds of tough after notching the win:

Thanks to all of families and fans for supporting us, and great job, MCC, you pulled off the win in spite of us!

Looking Presidential

Taking advantage of the President's Day holiday, the E Streeters hit Great Brook in Carlisle today for an outstanding outing! One of those days you could run all day.

We quickly discovered a new trail, albeit one with a warning sign. Not sure if they were warning away the Clydesdales (complete with Barry's gangsta pose)
Or the mustangs, (featuring a new runner in the mix, Sean's neighbor, Chris, who likely will never return to our company after being subjected to the crude and off-color humor that tends to fill our runs)Straight out of a GQ Magazine (Geek Quarterly), Barry and Jonathan strike a fashionable pose as they watch for their fellow runners in the wilds of Carlisle.Since this is a family blog, I really can't discuss what Tommy is showing Sean and Jonathan on his iphone.180 Ryan is all smiles leading the way on the only pavement on today's trail run. Must be the new sneakers.Jonathan is like a little kid when it comes to trails. Whether that means playing in the holes of the Garrison Loop......Or breaking stride to pose in the rock fort along the course. (He really needs to get out running with us more often.)As always, Great Brook provides a panoramic backdrop for our post-run celebration.Seriously - if you haven't checked them out, you've gotta hit the trails of Great Brook. They live up to the hype.

Before we wrap up, though, a special sentimental shoutout to a member of the extended E Streeter family. Gator, he of Carlos, Ann Marie, and Kayla's daily adventures passed away on Sunday. For the dog lovers among us, you understand the impact. Let's leave things with the words of Will Rogers: ‎"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."

All the President's Day Men

The holiday weekend provided lots of running opportunities for the E Streeters to hit the streets and trails, for all kinds of distance and terrains. February in New England, and we're doing wide-open trails, wearing shorts in 40 degree weather! At East Boston Camps, we're split by runners who are on Facebook to the right, and on the left? Well, you figure it out...On loan from Holy Cross for the weekend, Andrew eased right back into E Streeter modeMuch like the famous Bigfoot footage, here we see a lone wolf wandering the trails of Grassy PondOn the shores of Lake Nabnassett, the A Team opens up its lead....While the B-Listers stop and pose for picturesThe lonely life of the frontrunnerSean, jealously looking on as his lead pack status is usurped by an upstartThe Snake River, alongside the trek back to East Boston Camps. (Not really it's name, but it works for us.)Andrew, who hates having his picture taken, somehow manages to always pose when the camera's rolling10 miles in, the Marathon Men take a break for a picture or two before heading out for the final leg. Luckily Sean promised us a sumptuous breakfast at run's endThey wear the same shirts, but only one of these men will be doing a sub three-hour Boston Marathon this year! (You figure out which one.) Barry just found out we weren't done running, and still had another 5.5 miles to go!Do 16 boxes of Girl Scout cookies count as a sumptuous breakfast? Works for the Scanlon brothers....This morning, it was a much shorter distance, and a smaller contingent of runners, but a great course in Chelmsford

Andrew looks in awe of John's running formIn the limestone quarry, I'm ready for the Uruk-Hai's attackJohn, as Gimli the dwarf, ready for the impending Orc battleFather and son running pictures are all the rage this weekend

Tired of the paparazzi, Andrew tries in vain to deflect the yeoman's work of John and his RuncamAlas, though he couldn't join us for the run because he was home creating a Facebook account, Scott was there in name. Unfortunately, it's a dead-end street.

More to come!

My Award Winning Wife

Couldn't let Valentine's Day, the day of sweethearts everywhere, pass without a beaming proud nod to my beautiful wife, Jackie, who took home a Civilian Achievement Award at last night's Lowell Police Department annual awards ceremony.

Dying of embarrassment at the honor, imagine how painful it was for her to join the dignitaries at the front of the Hall of Flags at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium while Deputy Superintendent Arthur Ryan Jr. read Jackie's accomplishments to the crowd.Jackie is responsible for submitting all of the city of Lowell's crime reports to the FBI, a task that allows the city to apply for and receive millions of dollars in federal grants. It looks like she's honoring a moment of silence here, but she's really just painfully shy and mortified at being in the spotlight.The LPD Records Section handles over 22,000 reports annually, and all of the reports have to be chronicled and submitted electronically to the FBI. Now imagine having to READ all those reports! Here she gets a big thank you from LPD Superintendent Ken Lavallee.City Manager Bernie Lynch, Senator Eileen Donoghue, Mayor Patrick Murphy, and City Councilors Rita Mercier, Marty Lorrey and Bill Martin were on hand to congratulate my sweetie.

And of course, her family support network was on hand, including an escapee from Holy Cross, and Jack's nephew John.Not to mention our beautiful daughter, only too happy to display her mom's citation, and Jack's sis, Annie.

And of course, the obligatory Fantastic Four shot, with smiles and pride all around:

Give it up for Jackie! She got the spotlight last night, but we're proud of her all year 'round!

Running Giants

Sunday saw a double-header for many in the E Streeter running circle, with nearly everyone showing off their red-white-and-blue colors to support the Patriots, playing later that day in the ill-fated Super Bowl.

The line-up at the start/finish of the monthly N0 Bananas race on the Bruce Freeman trail in Chelmsford, with guest E Streeter, the legendary Scott Graham!
The Twin Towers, two pieces of a triple threat that would start the day running No Bananas, then hustling over to the other side of Lowell for the Super 5K.
Surpassing the excitement levels for the football game later in the day and hoping to settle their rivalry once and for all, 21:07 and 21:10 squared off on the trail. Right away, 21:10 made his move.

Scott Graham, taking a break from the dangerous roads of Westford, is scoping out the terrain. But hey, how'd we get that picture from in front of him? Could your intrepid running photog have been in the front of the pack?

Other members of the No Bananas competitors knew it was only a matter of time before Tommy and Carlos made their respective moves.

At the finish, Tom Hildreth still has plenty of wind left in his sails, which is a good thing, because he's the third fool headed over to a second 5K race a little while later.

At a balmy 17 degrees, the February outing was another success for Madame Banana Ruth Whalen Crockett.But wait. What's this? The finishing times as recorded in permanent ink? Do mine eyes deceive me? Is that Tommy at 25:32 and Carlos at 25:33? I guess this puts those rivalry questions to bed once and for all, eh?

From there, it's off to the Super 5K where Mike kept his shirt on, much to his son Brennan's relief.

You know, the dreadlocks SEEMED like a fun idea at the time. This is why I keep my hair so short.Barry can only look on in astonishment as Mike blows past all his competitors. Credit to Ted Tyler over at http://www.jimrhoades.com/ for race course photos and kudos to Race Director Rhoades, there to shake every finisher's hand personally as they crossed the finish line at the Lowell Elks.Barry cackles to himself, knowing he's going to blow past all posers right at the finish line.Terry Glenn came out of retirement to make a special appearance on behalf of the Patriots.The dreadlocks were billowing straight out behind me when I was running faster.

You DON'T want to know what the woman in white did to Mike at the finish line.Anne and Val kept a steady pace along Pawtucket Boulevard. Anne kicked it in for the finish, looking worried that Mike be shirtless at the finish line.Finally, the E Streeters showing their Pats pride. So what if the hometown team lost, we're still fans and we'll be back watching again next year! Remember, it's only a game and it's only a race. Unless, that is, you're Carlos being beaten by Tommy by one second yet again. Oh well, there's always next year!