2009 NBA Playoffs

The 2008-09 NBA season is one that will be hard to forget! There were many ups and downs and although the Cavs eventually lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals, it is still a season worth remembering. Our beloved Cleveland Cavaliers posted a league-best 66-16 record, earning them a #1 seed and home court advantage throughout the Playoffs. What makes this even more special is that Steve and I have a history with the Cavaliers. Of course, I was raised a Cavs fan and basketball has been a love of mine for many years, but when you live and breathe with a team, it becomes so much more than a hobby…it becomes an obsession. Steve began working for the Cavs during the 1995-96 season and hasn’t left! Quicken Loans Arena (a.k.a. Gund Arena) is also where Steve and I met in the summer of 2000 when he hired me to be his intern in Cavs PR. I returned to work for Cavs & Rockers PR for a few years after I graduated from college while Steve moved departments and to his current position in IT. Several years have passed and many things have changed. Instead of the pathetic 30 win, 29 win and 17 win seasons, the 2008-09 season had us enthusiastic about record-breaking statistics and record-breaking performances. We had so much to cheer for with the league’s MVP leading the way.

The Cavs Playoff atmosphere is like no other sports experience I’ve ever had. Unfortunately, Steve has to work all of the home games, but I have great friends and family that I was able to share this incredible journey with.

Liberty in front of Quicken Loans Arena

2009 Cavalier Playoffs

Round One vs. Detroit ~ SWEEP!!

4/18 Game One @ Cleveland ~ W 102-84
4/21 Game Two @ Cleveland ~ W 94-82
4/24 Game Three @ Detroit ~ W 79-68
4/26 Game Four @ Detroit ~ W 99-78

Liberty & Shannon ~ Round One, Game One

Player Introductions

Cavs Win ~ 102-84

Liberty & Shannon ~ Round One, Game Two

Cavs Win ~ 94-82

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals vs. Atlanta ~ SWEEP!!

5/5 Game One @ Cleveland ~ W 99-72
5/7 Game Two @ Cleveland ~ W 105-85
5/9 Game Three @ Atlanta ~ W 97-82
5/11 Game Four @ Atlanta ~ W 84-74

LeBron James is crowned NBA MVP

Sean & Shannon ~ Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, Game One

Cavaliers Win ~ 99-72

Steve's longtime friend (Eric Hodge) was visiting Cleveland on business during the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals so he was able to attend the game with me. Here we are prior to the game at The Harry Buffalo...Mom, Eric, Shannon & Liberty

Eric & Shannon ~ Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, Game Two

Steve & Eric

Cavaliers Win ~ 105-85

Eastern Conference Finals vs. Orlando

5/20 Game One @ Cleveland ~ L 107-106
5/22 Game Two @ Cleveland ~ W 96-95
5/24 Game Three @ Orlando ~ L 99-89
5/26 Game Four @ Orlando ~ L 116-114 (OT)
5/28 Game Five @ Cleveland ~ W 112-102
5/30 Game Six @ Orlando ~ L 103-90

Sean & Shannon ~ Eastern Conference Finals, Game One

Orlando Wins ~ 107-106

Shannon & Steve the morning of Game Two...We both put on the same shirt without realizing it :)

Shannon & Sean ~ Eastern Conference Finals, Game Two...This picture was taken right after LeBron hit the game-winning three with 1.0 second remaining. It was awesome!!

Cavaliers Win ~ 96-95

Sean & Shannon ~ Eastern Conference Finals, Game Five

Cavaliers Win ~ 112-102

It’s been 13 years since Steve Schur came from Connecticut via South Carolina to Cleveland and this was finally the year where the Cavs gave us a great chance at an NBA Championship. It's really too bad that this great season had to come to an end so soon, but there's always next year!

2009 Men's Final Four ~ Detroit, MI ~ April 3-7, 2009

On April 3rd. Steve and I took the 3 hour drive to Detroit, MI to attend our first (and hopefully not our last!) Men’s Final Four. The anticipation was a little overwhelming and we couldn’t wait to see Steve’s beloved UConn Huskies face-off against Michigan State on Saturday night…

Prior to our departure, Paul & Sue stopped by for a few hours on their way to the Women's Final Four in St. Louis, MO (Go Huskies!!). It is because of them that we had this awesome opportunity (and new sweatshirts!), so they took a picture of us with our tickets.

On Saturday morning we headed to downtown Detroit. As usual, I planned a mini pub crawl during our stay...I figure it's a great way to see the city :) Here's Steve with a Bloody Mary at our first stop, The Sweetwater Tavern. It was a very impressive drink with an even more impressive garnish.

I led us around town with my bar/city map. We met some North Carolina fans (Matt & Tony) and they tagged along with us throughout the day. The Hard Rock Cafe was our third stop and our new friends took this picture of us.

We were surrounded by Michigan State fans all day, but as we approached Ford Field it didn't matter. The experience was awesome! Steve and I absolutely LOVE the NCAA Tournament and to be there was surreal.

Here we are inside of Ford Field.

The banners within Ford Field had all 65 teams from the tournament. Coincidently (or alphabetically!) Cleveland State & UConn were next to each other...Clemson too :)

Additional banners for each of the Final Four teams were hung displaying the distance traveled to Detroit. Here are the UConn (746 miles) & MSU (92 miles) banners...I think the mileage differential explains the overwhelming number of Spartan fans :)

The end result of Saturday's game was not what we were hoping for as we saw UConn fall to Michigan State 82-73. In the second game, we watched North Carolina defeat Villanova 83-69.

On Monday we did a lot of the same. We toured the city on our own and visited more bars & restaurants. Our first stop was the Westin to get lunch at Michael Symon's restaurant, Roast. Steve and I are fans of Symon's Cleveland restaurants, Lola & Lolita, so when we were headed to Detroit, I knew we had to make a stop at the Iron Chef's newest establishment. We had an awesome lunch and a Great Lakes Dortmunder...ahhh, just like home.

Here we are at the Detroit Brewing Company with our new friends Tony & Matt. We really had a lot of fun with these guys.

Unbeknownst to us, Michael Jordan was being inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame on Monday so he was in attendance for the National Championship game. It looks like we'll have to make another stop in Springfield!!

Monday's championship game had North Carolina facing off against Michigan State. Although the Tar Heels led for the entire game and won 89-72, we had a great time and really enjoyed the entire experience.



One of the many highlights of our trip was on Sunday when we stopped at the Windsor Casino to gamble a few dollars away. I was playing the penny slots and actually hit the jackpot! My $5 bill became $1,200. You really can win that much on the penny slots! We were a little too excited to remember to take a picture when it happened so we returned to the scene on Tuesday to take one of me in front of the winning machine :)

On a final note, "One Shining Moment" is one of the most riveting elements of the NCAA Tournament. This year was particularly special for us both. As if being there to see the Huskies play in the Final Four wasn't enough! Cleveland State also made the tournament for the first time in 23 years and pulled off an upset win against Wake Forest. Also...the Dayton Flyers, my alma mater, made their first NCAA appearance since 2004 and advanced to the Second Round for the first time in 19 years! 2009 is a tournament year that I will never forget. Here it is...One Shining Moment!

Once again, Steve and I traveled and experienced something that we've never done before. We will relish the memories for a lifetime! We truly appreciate every opportunity that we have to experience new places and encounters, while also taking sheer pleasure in visiting the same places over and over again. We always try to remember to enjoy the moment and have a lot of fun while doing it!

Next Stop...Myrtle Beach, SC for my 30th birthday celebration

July 4-12, 2009

SMS 2009 Basketball Tour ~ Indianapolis & Dayton ~ March 2009

Ahhh…Memories. This past weekend, Steve and I went on a mini basketball tour and attended three college basketball games in 24 hours. Our first stop was Indianapolis for the #24 Butler vs. Cleveland State men’s game. The next stop was to my alma mater for the Dayton vs. Temple men’s game and Dayton vs. St. Joe’s women’s game. Unfortunately, CSU was not able to win the well-fought game and lost 56-58, but both Dayton teams won 70-65 and 84-57 respectively.

Historic Hinkle Fieldhouse ~ The movie "Hoosiers" was filmed here

UD Arena ~ We were able to see a sell out crowd for the Dayton/Temple men's game, as well as their 19th straight home win!

Go Flyers!

My friend Kyle is now an assistant coach for the Dayton women, so she and Dave were our hosts for the weekend. While in Dayton, we visited many of my old stomping grounds and while a lot has changed…some things have not! One of the best things about UD is the student neighborhood (A.K.A “The Ghetto”). Kyle knew some graduate students that still live in the Ghetto, so they welcomed us into their humble home. In typical UD Ghetto fashion, we drank Milwaukee’s Best Light (A.K.A. “Beast Light”) and I had a great time exchanging stories and sharing the splendor in which I lived and partied for much of my time at UD. Good times…

Here is a picture of my old house at 447 Lowes. Although I think all of our parents cried when they realized where they were letting their “little girl” live, we absolutely loved this place…we just didn’t walk around barefoot, because you never knew what was on that carpet.

This is a terrible picture, but we realized as we were leaving that once again, we didn't have any pictures of us :) Anyway, we had a really great time a look forward to our next “tour” to unknown destinations. Memories like these should be shared with people you love, and we did just that!!

Columbia, SC ~ January 2009

On our return to Cleveland, we stopped in Columbia to visit some of Steve's college friends. Greg & Karen Airasian were our gracious hosts, but we were also able to spend time with Steven & Edie Burritt, Brian & Sandra Dietrich and their 10-day-old daughter Samantha Joy!

Here are the boys of USC ~ Brian, Stephen, Greg & Steven

Sandra & Sam

Although our visit was less than 24 hours, we had a great time (as usual)! Thanks to Karen, we had some really fantastic food and were back on the road with full stomachs : ) It was nice to catch up with everyone and are looking forward to our next visit in July.

Myrtle Beach, SC ~ January 2009

In January, Stephen and I had the opportunity to get away for the week and go to our most frequently visited destination...Myrtle Beach, SC.

We walked the beach a few times and as you can see there were very few people...a peaceful experience that we really enjoyed.

Here we are on our walk. Steve and I always complain that we don't have any pictures together and this trip was no different. Every time I set the camera up on a timer, I just don't like the outcome. Oh well, these will just have to do!

Steve by the ocean bubbles. It was the most interesting thing we saw that day so we felt inclined to take a picture :)

I can't believe he agreed to do it, but this is the spot that Steve proposed to me. I probably told him that I'd pose too, but I was the one with the camera :)

During this trip we did something that we've never done before. We visited a new bar/restaurant every day during our stay. Typically we eat and drink at the same places, which is fine, but we wanted to take advantage of the small crowds and low prices. I did some research before we left the frigid cold in Cleveland and found some really great happy hour food and drink specials. We saved some money while also seeing some new places and meeting new people.

Here is the list in order of when we went. Not all of them are new to us, but 9 of the 14 are:

Thirsty Turtle (Karaoke too!) ~ California Dreaming (Still dreaming about it...) ~ LeGrand's (A nice place with $5 martini's & pretty good food) ~ Chuck's Steakhouse ($5 burger & free popcorn, cheese, crackers & nachos!) ~ Overtime Sports Cafe (Went here to watch the Cavs/Lakers game...lots and lots of TV's) ~ Roy & Sid's (Located in Market Commons. A new place with decent food) ~ The Office Italian Workplace for Locals (A long name for a small, but really good place) ~ Longhorn Steakhouse (Their happy hour started at 2pm so we skipped lunch and started there) ~ Greg Norman's Australian Grill (The best food value & great wine for $5) ~ Wild Wing Cafe (Buy One Get One Free Appetizers) ~ Oscar's Sports Bar (The best sports bar. We went here to watch the Cavs game on FSN Ohio) ~ Kracker's (A tiny place inside a gas station. I got a breakfast sandwich for $1) ~ Baron's (The owner is from Youngstown, OH) ~ Malibu Cantina Tex-Mex (Great Mexican food & margaritas)

I know it sounds like a lot (and it is!) but we had a really great time doing it and look forward to visiting some of them again when we return in the summer.