2010-11 SMS Basketball Tour

Over a 6 day stretch, Steve and I watched 6 basketball games played by 5 different teams in 4 cities in 3 states. We covered 890 miles, visited my college stomping grounds and caught up with some old friends. We wanted to use this opportunity to see some friends that have moved away, visit old and new places, and watch some (hopefully) good basketball; all while spending quality time together. Now that it’s over, I can honestly say that we accomplished all of this and continued to make more memories.

The tour began in Cleveland on Tuesday night, where I watched the Cleveland State women defeat Lake Erie 81-62. About a 1/2 mile away, Steve was working the Cavs game and saw the disappointing Cavaliers fall to the Orlando Magic 110-95. Steve argues that the Cavs game shouldn’t count against his record since he wasn’t there as a spectator. Since it was a loss, I’ll let him have his way and call it a 1-0 night.

On Wednesday afternoon we headed three hours southwest to Dayton, Ohio to see the Dayton men face off against George Mason. Before the game, we visited a restaurant that I frequented as a student. Much has changed since I graduated from Dayton 10 years ago (yes, it's been 10 years!), but Milano’s remains. It’s about five times bigger and a whole lot nicer, but still a pregame hang out with good food and drinks.

As a Dayton alumni and Flyer Faithful, I have always enjoyed watching games at UD Arena. I might be a little biased, but my thoughts were justified when I brought Steve to a Dayton vs. Xavier game six years ago. He marked it as one of the best venues with the best atmosphere he had ever watched a college game. The Dayton men have always drawn well, leading the Atlantic-10 in attendance and ranking in the Top 30 in the country for 14 straight years.

The George Mason game was no different. Despite the winter break and fewer students, the game was sold out with an overall attendance of 13,371. The Flyers didn’t disappoint and pulled-out a 73-67 victory.

On Thursday we roamed around campus and I showed Steve (again) the different places I lived and played at during my youth. I also showed him the scary and not-so-scary places that I lived.

Freshman Year ~ Stuart Complex, Adele Hall

Sophomore Year ~ Campus South

Junior Year ~ 447 Lowes

Senior Year ~ 739 Irving. 

Coincidentally, we had met up with some of my college roommates on Monday night in Cleveland. Some of us still live in the area, while Brigid (San Francisco) and Sarah (Las Vegas) were travelling from out of town. It’s been a while, but it was really great to see them.

We also visited the bookstore, ate lunch, napped and then headed back to UD Arena to watch the Dayton women play Harvard. The Flyers dominated from start to finish, winning 101-80. The Crimson sure could have used Allison Feaster for this one!

What makes our visit to Dayton extra special is that I have not one, but two friends on the women’s basketball staff. Coaches Kyle Rechlicz and Angie Russell both worked with me at Cleveland State and we’ve done our best to keep in touch since they’ve left. Because of them, Dayton was a must stop on the SMS Basketball Tour.

We sat with Kyle’s husband Dave at the game. As always, it was great to see him and their daughter Payton.

After the game, Steve, Kyle, Angie and I met at BW3 where we enjoyed a few beverages and caught up on what’s been going on in each other’s lives. It was a good time and Angie even finished her beer before me! If you know my Smirnoff drinking friend, then you know this is a big deal :)

On New Year’s Eve, we headed two hours west to Indianapolis, Indiana. After lunch at Rockbottom Brewery, we went to the IUPUI campus to see the Jaguars face-off against Western Illinois. Our friend Britt Korth is in her first year as an assistant coach at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (that’s really the name, thus the acronym IUPUI). As a player for four years and a graduate assistant for two years at Cleveland State, I guess you can say I’ve known Britt for a while. Anyway, when she got this job, Steve and I promised we’d make the trek and deemed New Year’s Eve totally appropriate. Our friend Lia joined us at the game as well as Britt’s parents, sister and brother-in-law. Unfortunately, the Jaguars dropped a close one losing 51-50.

That night we went to an area north of Indianapolis called Broad Ripple where they have a bunch of bars and restaurants. We visited a few different venues before we found the cheapest where we stayed to ring in the New Year!

On New Year’s Day, we headed to our final stop on the tour located 2 1/2 hours north. Chicago, Illinois is where we planned on seeing two games…Cavaliers vs. Bulls and Cleveland State women vs. Loyola. During the drive, we decided to skip the Cavs game and instead spend time in the city and eat a nice dinner together. Considering we have seen our fair share of Cavs games and rarely get to visit a city like Chicago, we knew we weren’t missing much.

We stayed at the Hotel Palomar located on State Street and near the Cleveland State team hotel. It’s a new boutique hotel in the River North area of Chicago. It was one of the top-rated Chicago hotels on TripAdvisor, so I was optimistic about the choice. It was probably one of the nicest hotels we've stayed in...very chic and modern and in an ideal location. They had hot chocolate available throughout the day as well as a complimentary wine and hot toddy reception at night. I had debated between several hotels and was really happy with my decision, especially since I got a great rate!

 With so many restaurant options available, we asked the hotel concierge for a nearby recommendation and we ended up at La Madia, a contemporary Italian restaurant about two blocks away. We ordered roasted whole artichokes as an appetizer, gnocchi with sausage and spinach along with a goat cheese pizza as our entrees and espresso semifreddo for dessert. We were very happy with our decision, but were particularly impressed with the fresh gnocchi and delicious drinks!

Gnocchi with Housemade Sausage, Spinach & Teardrop Tomatoes

Pizza with Laura Chenel Goat Cheese, Melted Leeks, Garlic & Pancetta Lardons

Despite their renowned wine list, Steve and I opted for the Moscow Mule & Citrine to drink.

After dinner, we met up with two of my co-workers. Bernard was celebrating his birthday and Greg was simply along for the ride (do you blame him?) While we may have kept Bernard out a little later than recommended, we figured your birthday only happens once a year and always a reason to celebrate!

 Sunday morning we enjoyed a continental breakfast at the hotel and then headed to Loyola University to see the Vikings take on the Loyola Ramblers. With one of the best efforts we’ve seen from them this year (and we are their super fans!) Cleveland State dominated every aspect of the game and ran away with a 76-58 victory.

It was a very satisfying end to our trip and we were happy to finish with a 4-1 record.

We left for home immediately after the game wishing we could have spent more time in Chicago. The Windy City did not dissappoint! It’s such a great place with so much to see and appreciate only 5 ½ hours from Cleveland. I guess that’s reason enough to return!

We were both battling with coughs and colds throughout the entire trip so we slept a lot more than usual and always had some DayQuil or NyQuil by our side, but you can bet that it definitely didn’t keep us from having a good time. As usual, Steve and I really enjoyed and appreciated our time together. We always have another adventure on the horizon and this was just another one for the books. Myrtle Beach in February is up next where I will run the half marathon (pending any weather issues!!) and we’ll visit some of our favorite places…Until then, have an awesome start to 2011 and learn to love and laugh more often.

Spectacular Sports Weekend, Days 2-5 ~ SEC Championship Game, Atlanta, GA

Day 2 of our spectacular sports weekend had us at the Cleveland State women’s game vs. Western Michigan, where the Vikings pulled out a 66-55 victory. Both Cleveland State teams are rolling thus far as the women are 6-1 and the men remain undefeated (the only 10-0 team in the country) and #1 in the mid-major rankings…Horizon League foe, Butler, is ranked #5 on that list. Following the game, we met Sean and Alex for dinner at Melt. Once again, the two hour wait was worth it as we indulged in a sandwich that was made available for two days only…The Dude Abides Melt. A sandwich with two jumbo beef and pork meatballs, crispy fried mozzarella sticks, marinara sauce, provolone and Romano cheese. Seriously? Yes, seriously.

We managed to get about 4 hours of sleep before we began day 3 of our spectacular sports weekend. We woke up at 4 am to catch our 5:30 am flight to Atlanta, GA for the SEC Championship game where the #19 South Carolina Gamecocks would face-off against the #1 Auburn Tigers.

Unlike Steve, I was able to sleep for the entire 2 hour flight. We met Jon at the airport and then all hopped on the MARTA to meet Cal at the Downtown Marriott.

We found Pittypat’s Porch on our walk to the hotel and it seemed like a nice place to stop for a drink. Pittypat’s wasn’t your typical bar. In fact, instead of bar stools, Pittypat’s had rocking chairs. The guys were pretty happy.

We headed toward the Georgia Dome and stopped at Taco Mac’s for another drink.

After that we walked to the Civic Center to check out the SEC Fanfare…That’s about when things went sour. Apparently, lack of sleep and food isn’t good for the body…at least the body of a 37-year-old Stephen Schur. During the walk around, Steve became very pale, ill, sweaty and then fainted. Jon called EMS where they checked him out and pretty much said he wasn’t 18 anymore! He was instructed to get some food, fluids and rest.

While Jon & Cal headed to a USC tailgate, Steve and I returned to the hotel to get him some rest before attempting to catch the 4 pm kick-off. We made it just in time and our seats were pretty amazing. Unfortunately, Steve was not feeling amazing.

As halftime approached, the Gamecocks were only trailing 21-14, which was promising, but Cam Newton’s 51-yard Hail Mary during the last few seconds of the half is really what put the nail in the coffin…and this was when we figured it was time to head back to the hotel and watch the remainder of the game on TV. Auburn went on to win 56-17 behind an amazing effort by QB and Heisman likely Cam Newton, who threw for 335 yards and four touchdowns, in addition to his two rushing TD’s.

On day 4 of our spectacular sports weekend, I woke up extra early due to my extra early bedtime. I went for a 7 mile run and then Jon, Steve and I went to the Hard Rock Café for lunch.

Excited for the NFL games that would begin at 1 pm, Steve went back to the hotel to get a little more rest while Jon and I began our trek around downtown Atlanta. We started at Meehan’s Public House for a bloody Mary & bottomless Mimosa’s (yes, bottomless). Unfortunately, they did not carry the NFL Ticket so were forced to go elsewhere.

Steve met us at Gibney’s where they had cheaper beer (something VERY hard to find in Atlanta), the NFL Ticket and KENO! I only mention that because I won $70 playing, which always helps pay for a few rounds.

Next, we went to a sports bar in the Marriott Marquis called High Velocity. They also had the NFL Ticket and their menu looked pretty delicious. Steve remained steady with his Ginger Ale consumption and wasn’t ready to eat so Jon and I shared their sampler platter. It wasn’t really a sampler, considering it included 8 sliders, 24 wings, a tower of onion rings, fries, celery, carrots & dip. Although it was way too much food, we still gave it a try. Someone on the streets of Atlanta was happy with our leftovers :)

We returned to Gibney’s for the rest of the games (remember, they did have cheaper beer!) and then to the Westin to check out their Sun Dial bar. The bar was located on the 73rd floor and made a full revolution every 60 minutes. Jon and I thought it was pretty cool, but I think it made Steve a little dizzy :)

We finished the night with a car bomb at Meehan’s before calling it a night.

On day 5 of our spectacular sports weekend, we walked around downtown and stopped at Sidebar for lunch.

We returned to the hotel to pick up our bags and get a drink at the hotel bar before getting on the MARTA and returning to the airport. By this time, Steve was feeling much better and was ready to get to work on Tuesday!!

Despite Steve’s bout with the flu and the Tigers devouring of the Gamecocks, we still had a great time. Whenever we spend time with friends…whether it’s 12 hours (sorry Cal), 48 hours, or an entire week, we always make memories that will last forever. Thanks again for a great trip!

Until next time...

Spectacular Sports Weekend, Day 1 ~ Cavs vs. Heat, December 2, 2010

On the evening of my 31st birthday, LeBron James made his “Decision” to leave Cleveland….147 days later, he made his return and I wasn’t going to miss it for anything. I was excited and the city was excited.

There was definitely a buzz around Cleveland and the hoopla around this “event” was pretty spectacular…The tickets for the game were selling for more than any other non-playoff game in Cavs history. Our $89 tickets were selling for $300 apiece online. The local restaurants and bars that have lost so much since LeBron’s departure were embracing this opportunity…One bar served “Witless” beer, a locally brewed beer mocking LeBron’s “Witness” marketing campaign…another featured a specialty drink called “The LeBron” which combined “Arrogant Bastard” and “Blithering Idiot” beers. The bar we chose to visit showed LeBron highlights and lowlights before the game. That was a little depressing…

The National media couldn’t get enough of this story…What would the fans do? What would LeBron do? Will LeBron do his famous talc toss? Has the city begun to recover? Why doesn’t Cleveland just get over it? If you turned on SportsCenter for one minute during the last week, you knew when and where this game was going to occur. We knew there would be a certain number of idiots that made the city look bad, but we were okay with that because that’s all part of the fun…This wouldn’t be story without the idiots!

Sean & I were joined by our friends Todd & Gina. We all agreed that the atmosphere of the game was amazing. It matched the intensity of any Cavs playoff games I have attended. The fans booed every time LeBron touched the ball, they chanted a**hole, Akron hates you, and (my personal favorite) Delonte. The game itself was a disaster. LeBron could have easily scored 50 points, but settled for 38 and sat out the entire 4th quarter. The Heat finished with a 118-90 win over the Cavaliers. Ouch. There were very few incidents at the game and I have a feeling that the media will make it out to be more of a spectacle than it was. The environment was consistent with what you’d expect from passionate blue-collar fans…and the official final count from The Q was 1 arrest and 4 ejections. I was actually hoping for more.

Day one of my spectacular sports weekend is in the books.

Let’s hope I survive the rest of it!

2010 Turkey Trot

On the morning of Thanksgiving I ran a 5 mile Turkey Trot around downtown Cleveland. It was a balmy 41 degrees with a slight drizzle, but nothing too terrible as I was dressed for the colder temps. As a race spectator, Steve was surely more miserable than I was. There were nearly 5,500 runners so it was a crowded race throughout. I finished in 50:20 (10:04 min/mile) and 143 of 261 in my age/gender group.

Thursday afternoon/evening we headed to my cousin Matt's house. He and his wife Jenny were hosting their first holiday and we were honored to be invited. We were joined by my Dad, Berneda, Sean and Alex. It was a nice small group with fantastic food. We ate, drank, talked, watched movies and sat by the fire. It was a very nice and relaxing way to spend the day.

Malley's with Daniel

My nephew Daniel had a sleepover with Sean and Alex on Friday so we joined them for dinner, bowling and ice cream. Malley's is an ice cream parlor that we really enjoy and have taken the kids to on many occasions. On this particular trip, the five of us decided to indulge in "The Ultimate Sundae" which includes 10 scoops of ice cream (we choose...chocolate,.vanilla, cookies n' cream, moose tracks, cookie dough & chocolate peanut butter), 4 toppings (peanut butter, caramel, hot fudge & marshmallow), 2 kinds of nuts (spanish peanuts & cashews), whipped cream, sprinkles and cherries. I am certain that there were MANY more than 10 scoops, which you can see from the picture. When we checked out, the guy that made the sundae said it weighed 4.5 lbs and was just under a gallon!! I guess you can say we did our best, but didn't come close to finishing it. The sundae cost us $19.95, but Daniel's expression is priceless...

We're Going to the SEC Championship!

For the first time in school history, South Carolina won the SEC East and are headed to the SEC Championship game. The Gamecocks will face Cam Newton (unless, of course, all of the allegations against him come to fruition and he is ineligible!!) and the Auburn Tigers on December 4, 2010 at 4:00 pm.

Minutes after South Carolina defeated Florida to clinch the East title, we booked our flights and hotel. We figured we would deal with getting tickets later. We soon went onto eBay, Stubhub, RazorGator, and any other online ticket site only to find that the cheapest ticket available was $300+ and those are BAD seats...nosebleed seats in a 71,250 seat venue. We're really fine with bad seats because the atmosphere is what really makes the game, but to pay that much is crazy. We knew this would be a hot ticket considering there are no sales to the general public and South Carolina and Auburn only get 15,900 tickets per school (not many considering USC has an 88,000 seat venue and approximately 30,000 students)...All other tickets go to sponsors and a few to other SEC schools.

So, we got thinking. We knew a friend who has been a season-ticker holder for years, but didn't want to put him in a position where he'd feel obligated to sell any extra tickets to us...and it actually turns out that he was unable to get tickets because the season-ticket holder/doner lottery is based on a "point" system. The bottom line is...$$$ donated = tickets. After a little more brainstorming, we decided to contact an old colleague from the Cavs who is currently an Associate Athletic Director at Tennessee (another SEC East school). We had met up and had a few drinks with he and his wife (another former Cavs/Rockers employee) at the Final Four in Indianapolis so Steve gave it a try...he sent him an email and within a few days we had 4 tickets at $125 face value in our possession. When we received them in the mail, we realized these weren't just any seats, these were prime lower level seats at the 30-35 yard line! Seats similar to this are selling for $750 apiece online...

We admit we got really lucky, but it obviously doesn't hurt to know the right people :)

Here is the seating chart...

The game will be played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA. Steve and I will be joined by our friends and USC alumni Jon & Cal as well as countless other USC fans. We're looking forward to it!

Go Gamecocks!

Great Pumpkin 5K at Lakewood Park

On the morning of Halloween, I ran my second 5K (3.1 miles) of the month. Once again, this race began at Lakewood Park and was actually the exact same course as the Nature's Bin 5K I ran earlier in October. 

Here I am before the race...

Due to their close proximity, my Mom, Rich, Molly & Daisy were there to cheer me on at the corner of Summit & Lake. They even had noise-makers...

Here I am during the race...I finished in 29:25 (9:29/mile pace) and 32 out of 62 in my age/gender group

Here I am after the race with my husband and biggest fan...

Although I didn't dress up in a costume, there were many other runners that did. My personal favorite was the pregnant nun...complete with a cigar and glass of wine. Not exactly family friendly, but funny none the less.

Following the race, my mom, Rich, Steve & I went to the West End Tavern for brunch. My mom and I celebrated my run with some Mega Mimosas. I guess you can say we're always looking for a reason to celebrate :)

Nature's Bin 5K at Lakewood Park

It’s been almost six weeks since I received the go-ahead to resume running again. I’ve slowly progressed from 2 miles to 3.5 miles, running three days a week. Prior to my injury, I was running 6+ miles, 4 days a week, but have been advised to alternate running with other activities to limit the impact on my hip. In order to train for the half marathon in February, I'll eventually have to increase the frequency, but don’t anticipate consecutive days for another eight weeks. I’ve been using our Concept 2 rowing machine another 2-3 days a week, so I’m doing my best to follow doctors orders with alternate cardio work outs.

Anyway, in an effort to get back into racing mode, I decided to sign up for a few local races to see how my mind, legs, lungs, hip, etc. responded. I’ve been running solely on a treadmill, so a road race is an important step towards my real recovery. Hermes Sports & Events organizes several races in the Cleveland area so I went to their site and found two 5K’s (3.1 miles) in October at Lakewood Park…a park about 1.5 miles from our house.

The first race was the Nature’s Bin 5K. For those who know Lakewood, the route started at Lakewood Park, ran down Edgewater to Summit (my mom's street), then down Lake to Kenneth to Webb and back to Lakewood Park. Because a short part of the race went up my mom’s street she, Rich, Molly & Daisy (dogs), Steve, Sean & Alex posted themselves at the corner of Summit & Lake so they could see me at the 0.75 and 2.75 mile markers.

 Here I am before the race...

 Here I am during the race...

My friends Britt, Lia and their tiny dog Deuces (he’s a Teacup Chihuahua, so I’m not kidding when I say he is tiny) were staying at our house for the weekend so they also came to cheer me on. I had quite a crowd…7 adults and 3 dogs. I definitely think I had the largest fan club. Steve is usually my only cheerleader so he was very happy to have company, especially in the light drizzle and 50 degree temps. They were all very brave and prepared themselves with chairs and umbrellas.

Here are Lia, Dueces, Me and Britt after the race...

I finished in 30:10 (9:44/mile pace) and 11th in my age/gender group. Regardless of whether I’m running 3, 5, 10 or 13 miles I always seem to maintain the same pace (approximate 10:00 minute mile). I think it’s because it’s more about the rhythm of the run rather than the speed. I guess you can say my legs and my lungs aren’t really into the speed of running :) I’m not trying to be faster; I just want to have fun.

The next 5K is the Great Pumpkin 5K at Lakewood Park on the morning of Halloween. Maybe Steve will run this one with me. It'll be one year after his foot & ankle surgery, so it's actually quite poetic! I've begged and pleaded, but he still won't bite. No pressure ;)