You know what they say: behind every great man is a wonderful and strong woman. Let’s allow girlfriends and wives to fight over the number two spot, because the role of Mother conquers all.

Throughout these many years, we have been blessed with amazing “Mom Moments” in sports. It becomes the cherry-on-top that creates these heart-felt moments, and we come to realize that everybody is vulnerable to the highest of emotion for at least one-day.

From top moments like Dallas Braden’s perfect game on Mother’s Day (2010); to Phil Mickelson winning the masters while wife Amy and mother Mary both battled cancer (2010); this past week added a few more chips to the table.

Marty St. Louis plays Game 5:

This past week showed us a few examples of the power of mothers. New York Rangers forward Marty St. Louis was focused on his team’s Stanley Cup Playoffs run. After a tough three-game losing streak to the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Rangers team already in a down-state of emotions, St. Louis received notice that his mother France had passed away. She was 63.

On the off-day in between games four and five, Marty headed back to Montreal to be with his grief-stricken family. It was that day that he decided to play in game five and head back to New York after a conversation with his father Normand, according to New York Post.

With the Rangers down 3-1 in the series and playing for their lives in Pittsburgh, St. Louis became that inspiration the team needed. They dominated the Pens from start to finish and took game five, 5-1.

St. Louis did not register a single point in the game, but he did not need to.

The scene during the game was obvious as teammates felt the significance of his mere presence. The emotional support was amazing. Nothing could stop the Rangers on this night as St. Louis teammates picked up the slack and buried the Pens.

After the game, St. Louis said this: "I know deep down my mom would want me to play this game. She'd be proud of me coming here and help as much as I can."

"She was a great lady. Best human being I've ever known in my life. I owed it to her to do it. I know she would want me to," according to Yahoo Sports.

Kevin Durant’s MVP speech:

This past week also included a most heart-felt speech giving by an NBA superstar. Kevin Durant, star-forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder, accepted the MVP award last Tuesday.

Once he finished the speech, there was not a dry-eye in the house.

It started off as a standard acceptance speech. It ended as one of the more genuine moments in media history as Kevin described what his mother (Wanda Pratt) did for his life growing up.

References such as hard-work, dedication and love were spoken by Durant, but the raw emotion seen by both of them meant much more than words.

In what could possibly have been the greatest mother’s day gift of all time, Kevin ended the speech by calling his mother “The Real MVP,” according to Washington Post.

Mother’s Day comes only once a year, but Mother is a non-stop roller-coaster ride. Through the highs and the lows, bad times and good, a mother is always the strongest weapon in any athlete’s arsenal.