Long before EA Sports created the immensely popular FIFA video games there was a board game that allowed players to take ownership of football teams during an FA Cup season. Road to Wembley, later known as just Wembley, was a game dictated by dice that gave football clubs a better chance to reach the great old stadium for the FA Cup based on what league they were in. The game had six different colored dice, which would be used to determine how many goals that team scored in the tie. If a team in the top division were drawn at home the owner of that team would use the red dice. This was the best one of the six in the game - featuring two 4s, a 3, 2, 1 and 0 – given the team a 50 per cent chance it would score three goals. To recreate the magic of the FA Cup, where teams from lower leagues can be drawn against top clubs, and to allow true giantkilling acts for teams who were in the third or fourth tier, the games rules dictated that those sides use the white dice when away from home. It featured two zeroes, two 1s but a 4 and a 5. More often than not the lower league club would be knocked out by the dice, as it should. However, some times youd get massive shocks. If you held ownership of that lower league club and you beat the big giant on their pitch it was a fantastic feeling, one very difficult to create on a modern day video game where better teams just had better opportunities and skills to beat lower opposition. Yet, in a world where so much can be predicted sport isnt supposed to be that way. On a weekend where one continent obsessed about PSI levels and hockey players skating fast around drink bottles, the global game went back to the future to give fans a true glimpse of what following sport should be all about. The oldest association football competition in the world may have become a little bit easier to read in its older, more recent years but it is not easy to teach an old dog new tricks and just when some wanted to write this one off it bounced back in all its glory on Saturday by showing modern day football fans just how beautiful it is when its most stunning feature, a giantkilling, is on show. FA Cup fans of different generations all have memories of these games. The 70s had Colchester over Leeds and Hereford over Newcastle, the 80s had Sutton over Coventry and Bournemouth over Man Utd and then in the early 90s came Wrexham over the mighty Arsenal. Depending on your age the highlights and goalscorers from those games are never forgotten. Major shocks also came in finals like Sunderland over Leeds, Wimbledon over Liverpool and, more recently, Wigan over Manchester City. The board game, if you are wondering, ensured teams used away dice for neutral venues. The return of the FA Cup, this season, to the broadcaster BBC in the UK has seen the competition receive more coverage and to promote the tournament they ran a number of previews in December, before the top teams joined at the third round stage, looking at the biggest shocks in FA Cup history. Like most of the ones listed here, rarely came ones where the giant was slayed on its own patch of grass. Who knew that a month later that list would need to be changed? In the buildup to this past weekends matches there was little fuss made about potential shocks. It is the job of the broadcaster to pick potential upsets in television slots, yet it speaks to the real level of surprise of the big shocks this past weekend that most took place at the traditional 3pm local kick off slot. Gone were Tottenham, Southampton, Manchester City and, of course, in disgraceful fashion, according to he who is special, Chelsea. At a time when it really needed it the FA Cup delivered one of its biggest shocks of all. Red dice………..two. White dice……………four. Everywhere football fans turn these days there are articles and analysis about how to make the old pensioner that is the FA Cup relevant again. Gone is the magic, they tell us, gone is the interest. Crowds are down but when assessing the reasons for that, the FA Cup itself is low on such a list. Like so many things in life, something so vulnerable isnt always at fault for its ways. The FA Cup will never be loved the way it once was but this past weekend gave us powerful images that sport, the great distractor from everyday life, can so often deliver. Friday nights affair between Cambridge United and Manchester United ended 0-0 and the outpouring emotion from the home fans and players at the end was almost as incredible as the look in the eyes of the young Cambridge mascots who got to look up at the likes of Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao and shake their hands before kick off. Less than 24 hours later, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was attempting to shake hands with Bradford boss Phil Parkinson to congratulate him on a stunning victory before the final whistle had blown. It was Bradfords moment. Well, almost. At that point there were still three and a half minutes left and I wasnt getting drawn into that, said Parkinson on the snub afterwards. Good for him. Parkinson would get his moment. Mourinho had his interview and got his name splashed across the story once again. How exhausting. Magnificent he may be at his job, but it is little wonder his time in one place is so limited. Unlike Chelsea, the FA Cup proved to be bigger than Mourinho. It came through English football like a hurricane this past weekend bringing many smiles to fans across the world who had become so complacent to the class system the game, flush with money, had allowed. This is not a tournament that will simply allow the countrys big four to reach the semi-finals. It will return in February down to its last 16 with seven of the top 12 in the Premier League, including the top three, no longer involved. Gone are the teams who wanted it but would never prioritize it. Some teams remain who feel the same but in an era when its never been more difficult to break the monopoly of the top teams and win a trophy suddenly a real chance has opened up for big football clubs to end long runs without a trophy. Back when board games were popular it meant everything to win the FA Cup. These days men in powerful positions at football clubs, with a strong disconnect for positive emotions, have done what they can to convince people that a finish in the top four of the Premier League is more valuable. Dont let them fool you. There are some things you cant put a price on. Winning an FA Cup means so much to fans and players too. Best feeling Ive had on a football pitch, said Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey after winning the FA Cup at Wembley last May. There are still many games to be played but thanks to an unprecedented weekend of surprises we now have teams left whose eyes need to be firmly fixed on the prize come the Wembley final on May 30th. If the dice fall in the right place the FA Cup could fall into the arms of a team desperate to have it for the third successive season. For the all the joy it continues to bring people, that is the very least it deserves. Steven Stamkos Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have fired receivers coach Ike Hilliard. 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After Mariota was pushed around by Stanford on Thursday, finishing 20/34 with 250 yards and two touchdowns in Oregons Title hope-crushing defeat, hes going to need a poor performance or two from the remaining frontrunners to have a shot at the most coveted individual trophy in college sports.BOISBRIAND, Que. -- Vladimir Tkachev scored his second goal of the game 16:58 into overtime as the Moncton Wildcats took Game 2 against the host Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 6-5 on Friday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action. Ivan Barbashev had a goal and three assists for the Wildcats (1-1), who evened their Round 1 matchup at a game apiece, Christopher Caissy scored once and set up two more and Conor Garland and Christophe Lalonde each had a goal and an assist. Nikita Jevpalovs had a hat trick for the Armada (1-1) while Ryan Tesink and Marcus Hinds each scored once. Monctons Alex Dubeau made 41 saves for the win as Blainville-Boisbriands Etienne Marcoux gave up six goals on 26 shots in defeat. --- MOOSEHEADS 6 ISLANDERS 3 HALIFAX -- Danny Moynihan scored twice and Jonathan Drouin and Luca Ciampini each added a goal and two assists as the Mooseheads doubled up Charlottetown for a 1-0 first-round series lead. Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrew Schewfelt had a goal and an assist apiece for Halifax. Anthony Cortese, Alexandre Goulet and Daniel Sprong each had a goal and an assist for the Islanders (0-1). Zachary Fucale made 15 saves for the Mooseheads while Charlottetowns Mason McDonald stopped 45-of-51 shots in defeat. --- HUSKIES 5 REMPARTS 4 (OT) QUEBEC CITY -- Ryan Penny scored 4:11 into overtime and Jeremy Lauzon scored twice in regulation as Rouyn-Noranda slipped past the Remparts to take Game 1 of its Round 1 matchup. Mathieu Lemay had a goal and an assist for the Huskies (1-0) and Jason Fuchs scored the other. Adam Chapman had a pair of goals for Quebec (0-1), Cody Donaghey and Nick Sorensen each scored once and Olivier Archambault tacked on three assists. Rouyn-Norandas Alexandre Belanger made 29 saves for the win as Francois Brassard stopped 30-of-35 shots for the Remparts. --- DRAKKAR 5 CATARACTES 1 BAIE-COMEAU, Que. -- Philippe Cadorette made 27 saves and Robbie Graham scored twice as the Drakkar toppled Shawingan in Game 1 of their first-round tilt. Jeremy Gregoire, Denis Gorbunov and Charles Hudon also scored for Baie-Comeau (1-0) while Valentin Zykov and Alec Jon Banville each chipped in with two assists. Shawinigans Alexis DAoust snapped Cadorettes shutout bid with less than five minutes to play in the third period. Marvin Cupper turned away 33-of-38 shots for the Cataractes (0-1).dddddddddddd --- FOREURS 4 TITAN 1 VAL-DOR, Que. -- Anthony Richard scored late in the first period and then again in the third as the Foreurs took Game 1 in their Round 1 clash against Acadie-Bathurst. Guillaume Gelinas had a goal and assist for Val-dOr (1-0) and Samuel Henley added the other. Aaron Kerr scored the lone goal for the Titan (0-1). Antoine Bibeau made 15 saves for the Foreurs. Acadie-Bathursts Jacon Brennan stopped 38-of-42 shots in defeat. --- OCEANIC 5 SAGUENEENS 3 RIMOUSKI, Que. -- Sebastien Sylvestre scored twice and Philippe Desrosiers only had to make 13 saves as the Oceanic were victorious in Game 1 of their opening round meeting with Chicoutimi. Jimmy Oligny, Samuel Morin and William Couture also scored for Rimouski (1-0) and Alexis Loiseau chipped in with two assists. Janne Puhakka, William Gignac and Domenic Beauchemin scored for the Sagueneens (0-1) while Julio Billia kicked out 36-of-40 shots in a losing cause. Chicoutimis Simon Tremblay was ejected in the second period after receiving a major for checking from behind. --- TIGRES 4 VOLTIGEURS 3 DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. -- Francois Tremblay made 33 saves and Julien Leducs goal 27 seconds into the third period stood up as the winner as Victoriaville edged the Voltigeurs for a 1-0 series lead in Round 1 action. Jonathan Diaby and Yan Pavel Laplante each had a goal and an assist for the Tigres and Cameron Yarwood scored once. Drummondville (0-1) got goals from Matthew Boudens, William Carriere and Olivier Caouette. Louis-Philip Guindon gave up four goals on 18 shots for the Voltigeurs. --- OLYMPIQUES 7 SCREAMING EAGLES 2 GATINEAU, Que. -- Simon Tardif-Richard had three goals and two assists and Martin Reway added two goals and two assists as the Olympiques hammered Cape Breton in Game 1 of their first-round bout. Vaclav Karabacek scored once and set up two more for Gatineau (1-0), Emile Poirier had a single goal and Jean-Simon Deslauriers had three assists. Timothe Simard and Clark Bishop scored for the Screaming Eagles (0-1). Robert Steeves made 18 saves for the Olympiques. Cape Bretons Alex Bureau gave up five goals on 23 shots in 46 minutes of action before Zachary Fortin took over. Fortin stopped 4-of-6 shots in relief. 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