HOYLAKE, England - If organizers of the British Open needed any vindication of their historic decision to use a two-tee start at Royal Liverpool on Saturday, it came from Rory McIlroy about 30 minutes after his round. Torrential rain was pounding the roof of the media tent as McIlroy was holding a news conference, discussing his third-round 68 that inched him closer to a first claret jug. Asked if The R&A made the correct decision to go off two tees and send the whole field out early, the tournament leader looked up and pointed to the skies. "It was a great decision," McIlroy said. "They got it right." In a move that riled traditionalists, The R&A looked at the forecast of thunderstorms and heavy rain and decided late Friday to make an unprecedented schedule change. Half of the field was to begin on the 10th hole and all 72 remaining players were to set out within two hours of each other. Sure enough, the heavy rain arrived — 30 minutes after McIlroy rolled in his eagle 3 at No. 18 to secure a six-shot lead with the last action of the day. Players finishing their third rounds were generally accepting of the two-tee start. "Weve never done it before at the Open Championship," said 2011 champion Darren Clarke, who was disbelieving when he was told over dinner on Friday. "Its one of the beauties — you get good tee times, you get bad tee times. "But they had to do it today, and it looks like theyve made the perfect call." There had been only intermittent outbreaks of rain and barely any wind at Hoylake by the time McIlroy wrapped up the third round shortly before 4 p.m. local time (11 a.m. EDT). McIlroys group finished about three hours earlier than usual on a Saturday at the British Open. There was thunder and flashes of lightning in parts of the northwest of England overnight, and the forecast of more of the same across the area on Saturday led The R&A to act. A two-tee start had never been done in the tournaments 154-year history. Spectators arrived with their rain gear and umbrellas. A sign at the back of the ninth green read: "Be prepared, thunderstorm possible." In fact, the main gripe among players and fans was that they were not given enough time to prepare. One spectator was heard complaining that the decision was made too late, because it disrupted his travel plans. "Theres a lot of surprise (among players) that no one could get their tee time until 10:30 last night," 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose said. "Thats very tough when youre trying to prepare for the tournament." Swedish player Henrik Stenson said he had gone to bed not knowing his tee time. "My caddie woke up in the middle of the night and checked it," Stenson said. The split tee times also meant that the duties of Ivor Robson, the official starter for the British Open since 1975, were halved. Players getting underway on the 10th were introduced to the crowds by European Tour official Mike Stewart. "I dont know what to do now," Robson told the BBC after calling out his last name for the day at 11:01 a.m. local time (6:01 EDT). "The last two days the tee times have been 6:24 (a.m.) till just past 4 (p.m.). I will watch golf I suppose." Cheap Adidas Devils Jerseys . -- Jake Paterson made 39 saves as the Saginaw Spirit halted the Guelph Storms seven-game win streak with a 6-3 victory on Sunday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap New Jersey Devils Jerseys . What they did need, the Devils got from Patrik Elias. Elias scored a power-play goal 40 seconds into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. http://www.cheapdevilsjerseys.com/. - After sewage backups, toilet overflows and foul smells surfaced the past two years, nothing at the Oakland Coliseum surprises the home team anymore. Wholesale Devils Jerseys .Y. -- Scott Chandler is returning to Buffalo, where he spent the past three seasons establishing himself as the Bills top pass-catching tight end. Cheap Devils Jerseys Authentic . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U.CINCINNATI - Four minutes were left when Peyton Manning took the field to try to lead his 51st game-winning drive. Plenty of time for the Broncos to pull it out.One bad throw brought the playoffs into sharper focus.Dre Kirkpatrick returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown with 2:41 to go, then picked off Manning again in the close seconds to secure a 37-28 victory on Monday night that put the Cincinnati Bengals back in the playoffs.Cincinnati (10-4-1) will play in Pittsburgh next Sunday night, with the winner getting the AFC North title. The loser gets a wild card. The Bengals will have one thing in their favour: Finally breaking out of their prime time funk.The Bengals got blown out in their two previous night games this season and were 18-41 all-time in prime time, including 10-20 on Monday nights. This one was particularly soothing.Until we had a win like this, people kept saying we couldnt win in prime time, said Andy Dalton, who is only 3-6 in prime time and 0-3 in the playoffs. So it was big for us to get this win. Regardless of what people were saying, this win meant more because it got us into the playoffs.The Broncos (11-4) were already there as AFC West champions. They could have clinched a first-round bye with a win on Monday. Instead, New England got home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Denver can still clinch the No. 2 seed by beating Oakland at home.Its disappointing, said Manning, who threw a season-high four interceptions. We had an opportunity to win this game tonight. We would have preferred that. We have another opportunity next week.Some things learned at Paul Brown Stadium:ABOUT THOSE PLAYOFFS: Cincinnatis four straight playoff appearances are a franchise first. Cincinnati hasnt won a playoff game since the 1990 season, tied for the sixth-longest streak of futility in NFL history. Theyre 0-5 in the post-season since then, with all of the losses coming under coach Marvin Lewis.HILL IS SOME ROOKIE: Jeremy Hill ran for 147 yards against the NFLs second-ranked run defence, including an 85-yard touchdown for Cincinnatis first points.ddddddddddddHe became the 10th Bengals player to run for 1,000 in a season. According to STATS, Hill is the third rookie in NFL history to rush for 140 yards four times in a season, joining Eric Dickerson (1983) and Curtis Martin (1995).ANOTHER DALTON MISFIRE: Dalton threw too high to A.J. Green on Cincinnatis second series, resulting in an interception that Aqib Talib returned 33 yards for a touchdown. It was a reminder of Daltons penchant for being off-target in the big games. The Bengals made sure Dalton spent much of the game handing it off or throwing short passes — 14 of his 17 completions went to a tight end or running back.IMPERFECT PEYTON: Manning was 8-0 against Cincinnati coming into the game, throwing for 20 touchdowns with only five interceptions. He had nearly that many on Monday night, throwing a season-high four. The showing raised more questions about the quarterback, who missed much of practice last week with a strained right thigh.It wasnt good, said Manning, who was 28 of 44 for 311 yards with two touchdowns. With four interceptions, youre not going to beat many good football teams.NOTEWORTHY: Broncos safety T.J. Ward left in the fourth quarter with a neck injury. Hell be reevaluated in Denver. ... Green bruised his right biceps when he was hit on Talibs interception return. He was in and out of the lineup for the rest of the game and finished without a catch for only the second time in his career. ... Demaryius Thomas set a Broncos record with his ninth 100-yard receiving game. He also joined Marvin Harrison and Jerry Rice as the only players with three straight seasons of 1,400 yards receiving and 10 TD catches. ... The Bengals started Eric Winston at right tackle for the first time since they signed him on Dec. 2. 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