Legends of Sports

Talk about a rags-to-riches story. The Tank, who went through waivers just a few years before without a single NHL general manager taking a shot on him, was voted the league's best goalie by many of those same GMs in 2009.

The Boston netminder could barely hold back the tears after accepting the award in Las Vegas and had every hockey fan in the world rooting for him for those few short minutes.

"I never really allowed myself to believe that I might win because it seemed like such a faraway dream when you look at the names on the Vezina Trophy. They're legends, and it's humbling to even be mentioned in the same sentence. I've been more worried about getting my name on a roster than I have been about winning the Vezina Trophy…Throughout my career, there were so many times when I got my hopes up and had them come crashing down behind me."

For a guy with a troubled past and an incredible professional career, former Dallas Cowboy great Irvin offered one of the most memorable induction speeches in NFL history. Openly crying, Irvin addressed his relationship with his two sons and how he has tried to be the perfect father for them.

He offered the advice to "look up, get up, and don't ever give up. You tell everyone or anyone that has ever doubted, thought they did not measure up, or wanted to quit. You tell them to look up, get up, and don’t ever give up."

Not bad for a college kid. Tebow's "Promise" speech was so inspiring, the folks in Gainesville immortalized it on a plaque at the football facility at Florida Field. The speech was actually given after a loss to Mississippi, but hey, it's Tim Tebow we're talking about.

"To the fans and everybody in Gator Nation, I'm sorry. I'm extremely sorry. We were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal, something Florida has never done here. I promise you one thing, a lot of good will come out of this. You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season. You will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. You will never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God Bless."

What a way to start a Hall of Fame induction speech. Green's speech can't be justified in words or quotes, but the legendary Redskin used the majority of his speech to thank his mother, father and family for all they did for him and wrapped it up with a simple yet powerful: "I belong here."

Disney, believe it or not, stretched a few of Herb Brooks' lines during his pregame speech to the ragtag group of American collegiate hockey players who took down the Russians. But thanks to the movie Miracle, hockey fans can have an idea of what the great coach said to his players before that win.

"Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can! Tonight, we are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players. Every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it."

See the top 5 sports motivational speeches here....