They are legends in every sport.
I tell people I played almost 23 years professionally and I don't think I ever had five games in a row like I had in that World Series.
They have revolutionized the way the game is played.
To me, he just did everything. I mean there was nothing that he couldn't do.
Their legacy is larger than life.
My theory on blocking shots was that a defensive play is not over until your team has the ball.
And so I didn't see why I didn't just hit it, just change direction.
Until the ball stayed in play and then you might look at him and smile and say, yes, yes, we did that to you.
It ain't nothing like being a quarterback bodyguard over there with a hit in the head.
Within the first five to ten plays of the game, the other team's quarterback must go down and he must go down hard.
They are the ultimate defenders of sport brought to you by Edge and Schick.
We're in the bottom of the 12th. Up the middle, can Smith get it? Ozzie dies. Can he have time? What a play Ozzie Smith.
As a defensive player, I've always been looked upon as a player that puts your offense in position to win.
That's why defense is such an important part of any not only baseball, but all the other sports too, football and basketball.
It's the thing that puts your offense in position to win.
Ground ball, that's in the hole. Diving stop by Smith and out. It's second on a great play.
Most players are judged by how many home runs they hit. Granted from time to time home runs win a ballgame.
But over a nine inning game, defense has to be played in order for that team to win.
Three one pitch. Fly ball to deep center field. Gary Pettis going back at the wall. Leaps. Got it.
If there was any fun on the field, for me it was the great play.
Defense was making the great play and talking about it the next day. I would work on the great play.
Right back and off the glove. And he will not. Mike Smith what a play.
I think the thing that makes me feel the best is that ball is hit in the gap that you cut off and you turn and you make a throw and you throw somebody out.
That to me is the ultimate. That's how I want a game to end.
Get it, spin, throw, one hop strike right to the bag. They put the tag on and it blows over.
In no sport is the art of defense more simply defined than in baseball.
The catch. The throw. The tag.
It is this fundamental formula on which success depends.
Perhaps baseball's prototypical defender was Brooks Robinson who turned the 1970 World Series into his personal defensive showcase.
I tell people I played almost 23 years professionally and I don't think I ever had five games in a row like I had in that World Series.
That's a. Oh! Robinson does it again. Brooks Robinson making another phenomenal play in third.
The 2-2 to May. Swing ground ball third base side. Brooks Robinson's got it throwing from foul ground toward first base. It is in time.
It was an amazing World Series as far as I'm concerned because I never had anything like that happen to me in my life.
And it certainly did bring forth I think what defense means to a team.
But if Robinson was the prototype then Ozzie Smith is the state of the art.
For the Wizard of Oz defense truly is a magical art form.
When I'm on the baseball field I'm able to create as I feel.
Sort of like having an artist sit down and take his brush to canvas.
It's a feeling and that's what hopefully comes across when I do what I do out there on the field.
I hope that people see me doing things as I feel free to do them with no restrictions.
A ten time All-Star primarily because of his defense. Ozzie Smith possesses a gold glove and the Midas touch.
But like most artists, baseball's defenders create some of the most memorable masterpieces when forced to improvise.
And never is this more spellbinding to behold than when players combine their skills in their quest to turn the double play.
Ground ball up the middle. It's gonna... No, not gonna get through. A great play. Great play by Bell.
And that's a shot up the middle. A diving stop by Cruz. Over to Geyan. Double play.
Long drive. Left center field. It is caught.
And now Fish trying to get back as Vultaxen throws back in. Gets him.
He sends a ground ball. Gagney. Nice play. They get one and they get the double play. And what defense play.
Double play ball maybe. Four. Six. Look at Ozzie. Three.
But though double play gems are turned in daily, there are some that you'll see just once in a lifetime.
Great plays have a way of exciting the ball club and a lot like football to turn over. And it can change the momentum of a ball club.
The defensive end of the game to me is the most exciting part.
You know, anytime you see a guy like Gary Pettis or the Vaughn White jump way over the wall to catch a ball.
I want to win. And whatever it takes to win, that's what I will do.
Whether it's running into a wall to catch the ball, whether it's trying to catch one that's hit over the fence.
I never give up and that's one of the reasons why I make some of the plays that I do.
For connoisseurs of more classic pursuits, nothing matches the elegance of the diving catch.
And of course, no one knows more about catching than catchers.
For the master of the backstop, Johnny Bench, every pitch was a test of determination.
Bringing cat-like agility and a rock-steady presence to this profession of hard knocks, he set the standard of excellence for defense behind the plate.
Mike shows the bunt. He had the air out in front of the plate. Diving catch by Mickey Teddleton.
And a great catch by Joe Gerani.
And the runner going for third to throw down the third bases in time.
Knocked down by Gruber. Fernandez going to make a play to the plate.
But nowhere is defense more in the spotlight than in the World Series, where every play is scrutinized by millions.
And sensational plays become baseball lore.
There's a long drive way back in the center field. Way back, back in his home field.
And there's a drive to right center. Robota.
There's a high fly on the right. Long chase for Cominning. Gallops over.
Here's Rettman coming to throw. What a throw!
It's popped up.
Boone, Rose, they'll have a play.
Boone dropped it and Rose caught it.
One on bounce. Bob the Flyer's glove. Phillips has it. Close to Eckerd Leigh. And the A's have won the World Series in a sweep.
Come inside the land of the Giants.
Where offensive titans
reign supreme.
And the scoring pace is fast and furious.
Magic, Magic, Magic, Magic, Magic, Magic all the way.
Jordan with the steal and it's showtime.
Sportsbook to dominate. Look down on the low.
Kempick's Mark Jackson gets the give and go. But in reality, the key to NBA success is a far less celebrated side of the game.
Defense!
Defense, defense, defense!
You're not going to win it offensively. You've got to get to work everybody defensive. That's what I'm looking at. I've got to have the defense.
With the battle cry sounding, the physical war of attrition begins.
Let's go. Don't body them up now. Let's go.
All we got to do is defend them. We defend and then we win the game.
Get up and start defending. They're scoring too easy.
Keep defending. Don't give them easy field goals. Make it tough. Make it tough. No easy field goals.
Defense is an interesting phrase. I think guys, once you sell them on it, it's a macho way to go. It's very frustrating to other teams.
No one frustrates the opposition more than the Detroit Pistons, owners of the NBA's stingiest defense.
When people talk about Detroit, they don't talk about our offense. They talk about our defense.
It's a constant selling job. It's a belief by the players that that's the way to win.
For Dennis Rodman, this is a credo to live by.
I like playing defense. I like doing things hard. I like to work. Work, work, work.
The 1990 defensive player of the year, Rodman is a relentless defender who seems to be everywhere.
And no matter how thankless the assignment, Rodman relishes his role.
I love that. I love a big challenge. I love a great challenge like that.
Coach has the utmost confidence in me to go out there and stop a great player.
I can go to some of the players and say, hey, don't help me out. I got him. He's in my chamber now. He's got the handcuffs.
And once that's set in, nobody can beat me.
It is an attitude that is shared by teammate Joe Dumars.
Now you get a guy who is not afraid to stick his nose in and play the toughest people night in, night out.
When pitted against the game's premier offensive forces, any wrong move can prove fatal.
I'm sitting there and I'm guarding somebody and it's usually somebody great.
It's usually a Magic or DL or somebody like that.
And when you make a mistake with those guys, it's not even a question of whether or not you're going to get burned. You're burned already.
The fire is never hotter than when Michael Jordan readies to work his offensive pyrotechnics.
Ninety-five percent of the plays are for Michael Jordan. And the other five percent end up in his hand anyway.
Confronted with the impossible task of containing this offensive juggernaut, Dumars is always ready for the challenge.
You're out there by yourself and there's no help. And it's just you and that guy.
It really gives you a charge then because you know it's just you and him and somebody's going to win, somebody's going to lose.
It's not going to be any in between.
No one has been more successful in slowing Jordan than Dumars.
But he is fully aware that it is a group achievement.
I say to Joe, I say Joe, I'm back there. Don't foul. It makes him feel good. Yeah, come on in. Yeah, go buy me.
I wait right here and see what Sally throws it to.
Detroit's defensive philosophy has not only made them one of the NBA's greatest champions,
but also has earned them a special place in its history.
When you look back maybe eight, nine, ten years from now, you will see that the team that we've played on has changed the course of NBA basketball.
Beneath the banners of Boston Garden resided a precursor to Detroit's defensive innovators, the Celtics,
who built their dynasty around basketball's greatest defensive player.
I think Russell was the foxiest, smartest, meanest player psychologically that ever played the game.
Whatever it took to win, Russell would do.
Dominating play from the defensive end, Russell changed the very nature of the game.
He had such great quickness and agility that he could play three or four guys on the same trip up the court,
switch off, go back to his own man, block a shot, so he would disrupt their whole entire offense.
Russell's intimidating presence on defense was based on his most imposing weapon, the block shot.
My theory on blocking shots was that a defensive play is not over until your team has the ball.
And so I didn't swat it, I just hit it, just changed direction until the ball stayed in play.
Bill Russell made shot blocking an art. 90% of the time when he blocked a shot, we would get the ball.
Then after a while, he became so intimidating, it was like blocking another ten shots a game, even if he never touched a guy.
A guy comes in and you block the shot, and then you go down and you get an easy layup.
These things make statements. And then you might look at him and smile and say,
yes, yes, we did that to you.
Bringing shot blocking into vogue, Russell inspired a generation of zealous followers.
A big time block by the mailman.
When you block a guy's shot, it's just like dunking in his face. You just disrespected him.
It's like a big juice of energy, like somebody push your electricity button and it gives you a lift.
Mikhail, blocked by Lovingston. Mikhail gets it back, blocked by Lovingston, and they got a jump ball.
I start every game with the idea that the key is my area, and if you come into my area, you're going to have to deal with me.
Buck Johnson, nice pass to a key, hits stuff at the bucket, and it's a jump ball.
Although this imposing legion of NBA goliaths punish opponents with regularity,
no one rules the defensive interior quite like New York's Patrick Ewing.
That's my job, that's my job, and I like doing it. So when people see me down there,
sometimes they think first before they come in because they know I'm a challenger.
Remaining true to his word, Ewing patrols the paint with reckless abandon,
ensuring that those who dare venture into his domain will answer to him.
Swat it away by Ewing, six blocks for New York. Jackson for the trail of New York.
While shot blockers use brute force to thwart the opposition,
the men of steel rely on quickness and cunning to disarm their opponents.
Rook is left side, they knock it away, Stocks steals it, he's down it off, Stocks in, the blue.
And like the block shot, the steel is a lethal weapon that has the unique ability to turn defense into offense.
Backed away again for a second time by Robertson to join his team.
But basketball's ultimate defenders possess a devastating combination of these defensive skills.
In a game of unmatched athleticism, it is fitting that two of its most spectacular athletes
now wear the mantle of basketball's premier stopper, the breathtaking Michael Jordan
and the majestic Akim Olajuwon.
Olajuwon, a one-man defensive force, is the only player in NBA history to register 200 steals and 200 blocks in a single season,
a feat that is a testament to his talent and to his tenacity.
Whatever it takes to win, block shot, steal, defensive rebound, whatever, just do it all.
Doing it all is Michael Jordan's specialty.
Mastering every facet of the game, the Bull Superstar dispelled any notions that he is strictly a scoring machine
as he became the first player to receive Defensive Player of the Year and Edge MVP honors in the same season.
The defensive end is where I really want some recognition because it takes a little bit off of that.
I just shoot and I just score and I'm just an offensive player. That's something that I don't want to be remembered as.
He is basketball's most devastating weapon and perhaps its ultimate defender.
I can't see 20 years from now anybody saying he was okay for his time.
I think he's going to be okay for the time before us, now and 20 years down the line.
He's going to be something that people look at and say, he's unbelievable.
Steal, he cut it in bounds, here it is again.
Oh, yes!
Kellen's doubled up, zips it back outside the ball, loose McDaniel and it's stolen by Jordan. Michael's got a break away. This game is over.
And the Bulls go up 66-59. Robinson way in the back court.
Jordan is stealing. Michael Jordan stole the ball from Robinson and Tomahawk in his face. Jordan another steal.
Paxson has a wide left, now to pimp into the hoop.
Like their NBA peers, NHL defenders confront a legion of offensive superstars.
Their response is often chilling.
Monica.
Watch this blast from Scott Stevens. A classic.
Boom at the line from Larry Melvin. Great trade on time.
There is more to hockey defense than just delivering crushing body checks.
And no one has demonstrated this better than Bobby Orr.
The Hall of Fame defenseman who showed that defense does not have to be played just defensively.
I looked at Bobby in 1970 when I started in the league.
I could sit on the bench and just be in awe of this guy. He was the greatest player that I've ever seen play.
And to sit there and watch him control the game and lift the people out of his seats and do the things he did was unbelievable.
The greatest thrill I ever had was coaching Bobby Orr. He was no problem at all.
In fact, I remember one time in the dressing room, I was giving the guys heck and he came to me after the game and said,
You know, Don, when you're giving the guys heck, do you think you could give me heck too?
And Bobby Orr was like, to me, he just did everything. I mean, there was nothing that he couldn't do.
I think he'd still be playing if he was healthy. And he'd still be dominating. I mean, that's really how good he was.
Orr led the Bruins to two Stanley Cup championships in the early 70s, winning the Norris Trophy for best defenseman eight straight years and revolutionizing his position.
Teams have learned that to compete for the Stanley Cup nowadays, you need a mobile quarterback at the blue line.
If Orr was a revolutionary, then Ray Bork is the prototype product of that revolution.
Bork has captured the Norris Trophy, three out of the last four years.
It's only fitting that this defenseman also plays for Boston, for he too can do it all.
He's been magnificent defensively as much as offensively. He could put more points on the board, I have no doubt.
But at the same time, he'd be risking the team defensively. So he knows when to pick his spots. He knows when to go and when to lay up.
He's physically tough. He bangs people and gets banged in return and seems to have a lot of endurance that way and play through it.
He's a powerful guy. From the waist down, his legs carry him to every loose puck.
He's got a great attitude in terms of what he should do, both on the ice and off the ice.
He's the first guy to congratulate somebody who's scored a goal. Even when he's sitting there on the bench, something positive happens for us.
He verbalizes it. So it's a whole array of things that make him special for our club.
Respect for Bork has spread league wide as he has demonstrated a unique blend of finesse and ferocity.
I look at his waist coming at me and I'm just trying to concentrate on playing the body.
Or if it's a one on one situation, I'm just concentrating on him. Or if there's other guys coming, I'm trying to read the situation and see what's going to happen.
Bork has incredible range and agility. Sometimes his defensive aptitude goes above and beyond the call of duty.
The word is out. Ray Bork is hockey's premier defender. But if there is ever a time when the defense breaks down, the goaltender must rise to the challenge.
Nothing tests the brittle ego of a goaltender more than a darting player unleashing a blistering shot.
Add even more pressure if the game is in the Stanley Cup Finals.
In 1990, one netminder rose from obscurity to become the most valuable player in the playoffs, Edmonton's Bill Renford.
I think most goal is once you hit this level, you have the confidence in your playing ability because you have to to get this far.
But it's that comfort zone. Whenever you hit that stage where you're not in a good comfort zone, it's tough because any mistake you make shows up on the scoreboard.
You have to prove yourself to yourself, is what I always try to do. And if I'm satisfied with my performance, well then that's as good as I can do and you have to be happy with that.
One goalie who's happy with his play only when he's at an emotional peak is Philadelphia's Ron Hextall.
The mental preparation needed by a national hockey league netminder for a game is great enough. Hextall's concentration, though, has to be at a higher level.
Ron Hextall's got to be an emotional guy in the net for him to play great and be the great goalie he is because if he's just a cool, calm, collective guy who sits back in the net, that's not his game.
Most nights, though, Hextall is on his game. For shooters, it's like going against an impenetrable castle wall.
Petit shoot, save Hextall, the rebound, another save by Hextall. What a save, incredible.
Hextall's got a head for Christian, a leadoff break. Here he is across the line, a shot, a save.
Ron's unique stick handling ability has revolutionized the position. Goalies must now become essentially a third defenseman. Hextall went one step further, living every netminder's dream.
Here he goes, spinning for one. Here's the clear, there it is, he scores! Hextall scored a goal on the empty net.
Hextall stops, slips one down the ice, will it make it? It's got a chance, it's got a chance. He's got it! Yes, sir!
Hextall shares the indomitable spirit that is the trademark of all of sports' ultimate defenders.
For most, defense is a job.
For some, defense is a commitment.
For a select few, defense is an obsession.
The Bears' Dick Butkus was one of the few.
I'm really not the tough macho guy that was only during the game and no matter how hard you try to explain that, sure you were, you know.
Protest notwithstanding, Butkus terrorized all who dared cross his path for nine bone-crushing seasons, achieving legendary status even before his remarkable career had reached an end.
Butkus is synonymous with football, it's synonymous with hitting, contact, aggressiveness.
The first element is the control of territory, the control of yardage, and that starts in the line, linebackers included.
It's a draw! 34!
It's that physical and mental contest that goes on on every play.
Determines the ultimate winner.
Go, go, go, go!
Let him go!
Ah!
You're a bitch!
Go, killer! This ain't gonna be no place for women and children, I tell ya!
The physical part of football is still the most important part.
When you have two teams that know what they're doing and two teams that have great athletes on both sides, then usually the game is decided by the team that hits the hardest.
Before you're doing anything in football, you've got to be able to move from spot A to spot B to hit somebody.
Now once you get there, you want to get there with the most velocity, the most power, the most impact.
By the time they get to pro football, I think the only thing you control in terms of contact teaching is the emotional side of it.
I think if a player is a very intense guy or the organization becomes more intense on Sunday, the more intense you are, the more apt you are to be a heavy hitter on Sunday.
You have to mentally make yourself ready to go out and realize that it's such a physical game that it's better to be the hitter than the hitter.
Get in there!
Defense is kind of wild and frenzied. Like a nitroglycerin ray to go off.
Within the first five to ten plays of a game, the other team's quarterback must go down.
And he must go down hard.
Now we'll get our quarterback killed!
There ain't nothing like feeling a quarterback's body crumble, man.
If you want to take a man out, it's very easy to do. Look at him square in the eye. And that was my whole approach in the game.
I wanted to put as much fear into his heart and as much pain on his back as I possibly could.
That's one of the tricks in coaching is to find that button, to find that formula, to find that code within the player.
I really just don't like violence, but sometimes they hit that switch. I kind of get that faraway look.
They go on Howie time. My teammates call it Howie time. You feel like you can beat anything on earth.
And that's the way I like to feel on Sunday. Everything is just right by the time I get on the field.
By the time I get on the field, I feel unstoppable.
Jack Lambert's theory of motivation was somewhat more basic.
That'll cool your ass off.
I could never understand why some people had to be motivated.
And I tried not to yell and scream too much, but sometimes when we were playing very poorly, I felt that a few words were necessary.
And that's usually when I did my yelling and screaming.
For football's ultimate defenders, defensive intensity is fueled by raw emotion.
Hey baby, let's go out there like a bunch of crazedogs. That's some fun.
Only the second defensive player to ever be named league MVP, the fiery Lawrence Taylor, is the most dominant defender of his time.
It's a confidence born of demonstrated ability. He thinks that he can will anything to happen on the field.
And for the most part, it's true.
John, I gotta do that in this.
While Taylor is a force of one, the 1985 Chicago Bears found strength in numbers.
Allowing the total of just ten points in three playoff games, they took their place as one of football's greatest defensive teams.
Prox, back to fast, the rush out. And hammer it down.
And a goal. The crowning jewel in their NFC championship.
Capturing the indefinable essence of defensive dominance, they join a proud tradition of legendary defenders who have left their distinctive mark on sports history.
For no matter what the game, it is the tireless efforts of the defense on which victory most often depends.
And though they may often labor anonymously in the trenches, it is the defender whose tenacity and courage are the heart of sports' greatest champions.
He saved it to Lambeer. What a play by Jewell.
The Pistons are the champions of the world.
The Pistons are the champions of the world.
This has been a presentation of NBA Entertainment.
Thank you.
Beep.