May is a busy time of year in the sports world as it falls smack in the middle of the NBA and NHL playoffs while the MLB season starts to heat up, both literally and figuratively. Mother's Day always receives lots of fanfare across the sports landscape, including many memorable games and plays. You can bet on this year's Mother's Day action on the best sports betting sites using sportsbook promo codes to rack up welcome bonus offers for all the games that day.
With that in mind, here are our top three Mother's Day moments in recent sports history.
Dallas Braden's Perfect Game - May 9, 2010
A perfect game is among the rarest and most treasured feats in Major League Baseball. It requires the pitcher and their fielders to be "perfect" for 27 outs, as a fielding error or one too many balls in an at-bat will end it.
A perfect game has been recorded 23 times in MLB history, and one of those just happened to fall on Mother's Day in 2010. The Oakland A's Dallas Braden faced the Tampa Bay Rays and retired all 27 batters he faced that afternoon.
But the back story of the perfect game falling on Mother's Day is almost better than the accomplishment itself. Raised in Stockton, California, Braden lost his mother to cancer when he was in high school. He was then raised by his maternal grandmother, Peggy Lindsey, who just happened to be at the Oakland Coliseum that Mother's Day.
Braden was masterful that day, throwing 77 strikes on 109 pitches, on his way to the 19th perfect game in MLB history. This was the clear highlight of his MLB career, as he went just 26-36 with a 4.16 ERA before retiring from baseball at age 28.
He did, however, deliver a Mother's Day moment for the ages when he hurled this perfect game in 2010.
2019 NBA Playoffs - Kawhi Leonard's Game 7 Buzzer Beater vs. 76ers
The Toronto Raptors acquired Kawhi Leonard in the summer of 2018 as the team went all-in for what ended up being a one-year rental. Leonard load managed during the regular season, building up to be primed to make a run in the 2019 NBA Playoffs.
After beating the Orlando Magic in the first round, the Raptors took on the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. After splitting the first six games, it came down to a winner-take-all Game 7 in Toronto -- a game that took place on Mother's Day 2019.
And what a game it was! With the score tied at 90 and 4.2 seconds left, the Raptors had the ball. They inbounded to Kawhi, who dribbled into the right corner, with first Ben Simmons and then Joel Embiid on him. He threw up what looked like a prayer. It bounced not once, not twice, but four times on the rim before going in, and sending the Raptors to the Eastern Conference Finals.
This is one of the most memorable shots in not just Mother's Day history, but the NBA as a whole.
The Raptors would go on to win the NBA title over the Golden State Warriors, and if not for that miraculous Mother's Day shot, the Raptors might have gone home empty handed.
2014 NHL Playoffs - Martin St. Louis Scores Goal In Mother's Honor
Martin St. Louis is best known for his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning, specifically leading them to the franchise's first Stanley Cup. But another very memorable moment in his NHL career came on Mother's Day 2014, then with the New York Rangers.
After being acquired by the Rangers at the trade deadline, the future Hall of Famer was part of the team's playoff push. On May 8, in the middle of the second round of the NHL Playoffs, St. Louis' mother sadly passed away suddenly at the age of 63. He left the team after Game 4, with the Rangers trailing the series 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
His status for Game 5 was uncertain, but St. Louis' father encouraged him to return and play as that's what his mother would have wanted. So St. Louis did. The Rangers dominated Game 5 in Pittsburgh, tallying a 5-1 win.
Then, Game 6 was at Madison Square Garden -- on Mother's Day. And wouldn't you know it, St. Louis scored the first goal of the game. He put the puck in on a rebound, and the rest is Mother's Day history.
The Rangers eventually completed the comeback and would ultimately make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they were defeated by the Los Angeles Kings.
