A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements. Generally, these are referred to as city walls or town walls, although there were also walls, such as the Great Wall of China, Hadrian's Wall, and the metaphorical Atlantic Wall, which extended far beyond the borders of a city and were used to enclose regions or mark territorial boundaries. Beyond their defensive utility, many walls also had important symbolic functions — representing the status and independence of the communities they embraced.

Existing ancient walls are almost always masonry structures, although brick and timber-built variants are also known. Depending on the topography of the area surrounding the city or the settlement the wall is intended to protect, elements of the terrain (e.g. rivers or coastlines) may be incorporated in order to make the wall more effective.

Walls may only be crossed by entering the appropriate city gate and are often supplemented with towers. In the Middle Ages, the right of a settlement to build a defensive wall was a privilege, and was usually granted by the so-called "right of crenellation"^{[citation needed]} on a medieval fortification. The practice of building these massive walls, though having its origins in prehistory, was refined during the rise of city-states, and energetic wall-building continued into the medieval period and beyond in certain parts of Europe.

Christopher Emmanuel Paul Sr. (born May 6, 1985) is an American professional basketball point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers. Paul was born and raised in North Carolina. Despite only playing two varsity basketball seasons in high school, he was a McDonald's All-American and accepted a scholarship with nearby Wake Forest University. After his sophomore year with the Demon Deacons, he declared for the draft. Since being selected 4th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Hornets, Paul has been a NBA Rookie of the Year (2006), a five-time All-Star, and a multiple All-NBA and All-Defensive team honoree. He led the Hornets to the second round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs. He has also won an Olympic Gold Medal with the United States national basketball team.

Off the court, Paul has also achieved success in the sport of bowling and is a sponsored spokesperson for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). He has participated in numerous celebrity and youth bowling events as the head of the CP3 Foundation to benefit programs in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, and charities in Winston-Salem.

Kyrie Irving (born March 23, 1992) is an Australian-American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played as a point guard for Duke University as a freshman before being selected as the 1st overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by Cleveland. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2012. Irving was born in Melbourne and grew up in New Jersey.

Irving was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia where his father, Drederick Irving, played professional basketball for the Bulleen Boomers. Irving subsequently lived in Australia before relocating to the United States at the age of 2. He has dual citizenship in the United States and Australia. Irving's mother, Elizabeth, died from an illness when he was four, so Drederick raised him with the help of Irving's aunts. Growing up in New Jersey, Irving was a fan of the New Jersey Nets. His father took him and his sister to Continental Airlines Arena during the 2003 NBA Finals.

Irving played for Montclair Kimberley Academy his freshman and sophomore years, where he averaged 26.5 points, 10.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 steals and became only the school's 2nd 1,000 point scorer, before transferring to St. Patrick. While at St. Patrick High School, Irving played with Michael Gilchrist, who was widely regarded as one of the best players in the class of 2011. On January 20, 2010, it was announced that Irving was selected to the 2010 Junior National Select Team. The team played at the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, on April 10. He was also selected to play in the 2010 McDonald's All-American Game and the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic, where he was named as co-mvp with Harrison Barnes. In June 2010 Irving was a part of the gold medal winning team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. Irving was the #2 player in the class of 2010 by Scout.com, #3 player in the ESPNU 100, and rated as the #4 player by Rivals.com.

Dave Sarachan (born June 7, 1954 in Rochester, New York) is a former U.S. soccer coach and player. He spent two seasons in the North American Soccer League and four in Major Indoor Soccer League before retiring in 1982. Since then, he has coached at the collegiate, professional and national team levels, most recently as the head coach of the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer.

Sarachan grew up in Rochester, New York, graduating from Brighton High School in 1972.^[1] He then played two years of college soccer at Monroe Community College where he was a junior college All American in 1973 and 1974. After the 1974 season, he transferred to Cornell University, where he played two more years, and was named the team MVP as a senior.

Following his graduation, the Rochester Lancers of the North American Soccer League (NASL) drafted Sarachan. He played two seasons, 1976 and 1977, with the Lancers.^[2]

After two seasons with the Lancers, Sarachan moved indoors, where he played for the Pittsburgh Spirit in 1978-79, and the Buffalo Stallions from 1979-1981.

Thomas Vermaelen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtoː.mɑs vər.ˈmaː.lə(n)]) (born 14 November 1985) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Premier League club Arsenal and the Belgium national football team. Being left-footed, he usually plays as a left-sided centre back and can play at left-back as well. He is currently the vice-captain of Arsenal, with Robin van Persie his best friend named captain. His key attributes include aerial ability and he is quick with the ball at his feet.

Vermaelen, though quite small for a central defender, started his career in his home country with Germinal Ekeren, which later changed its name to Germinal Beerschot after a merger.

Vermaelen joined the academy of Dutch club Ajax. He made his professional debut on 15 February 2004 in a 2–0 away win over Volendam. It was however the only match he played during the season in which Ajax won the Eredivisie championship. He was sent on loan to RKC Waalwijk for the 2004–05 season. At RKC he was not a first team regular, but made thirteen appearances in which he scored three goals.