er also has backing from anti-do | Forum

GOLD COAST, Australia -- Harold Varner III set his alarm for 2:45 a. Andrew Chafin Jersey .m. For a more seasoned pro such as Ian Poulter, it was a relatively more leisurely wakeup call for 3:30.There was a serious recalibration on Friday at the Australian PGA Championship, the morning after lightning and rain prevented any play late on the first day. Varner and Poulter were among the players who didnt finish their first rounds before the postponement, and had to be back at Royal Pines Resort to tee off at 5:30 a.m. on FridayI cant just get up and feel good. Ive got to stretch, said Varner, who was runner-up here last year after losing a three-way playoff. I dont like to just get up and go. I like to chill.Varner had a share of second spot at 5 under after 14 holes when his first round was interrupted on Thursday. He finished off with a couple of birdies for an opening 65, and a share of the lead at 7 under. His second round followed quickly, and he had a birdie on the 12th -- the third hole of his second round -- to move to 8 under.Double bogeys on the 15th and 16th were setbacks. He had a birdie at the 18th, then a bogey at the 2nd, before finishing with three birdies in his last five holes to card an even second round and remain at 7 under, good enough to keep him up near the top of the leaderboard.The 15th, 16th ... happened real fast, he said. It was just a bad combination. I hit some bad shots and I compounded those with my attitude.Then I also used that attitude to get out of there. I made enough birdies ... it was nice to rebound, finish really strong.Varner had planned to watch a round of Tiger Woods comeback at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas on TV, so there was one benefit to leaving his hotel at 3:45 a.m.When I got here he was leading. Then when I finished my first round, he was 1 under and he had one hole left, Varner said. Its exciting to see him back. Its crazy -- 18-man field, people are so in-tuned to. It just goes to show how much he moves the needle and how much we still need him.At least the 26-year-old Varner had some recent experience of the early bird starts, recalling the times before he emerged on the PGA Tour when he had to get up around 3 a.m. to drive for a Monday qualifier.He was planning a sleep and maybe a trip to the casino Friday afternoon.Poulter had plans for a long afternoon snooze after finishing off his first round, an even-par 72, and then carding a 68 to move to 4 under -- all before lunch.The 40-year-old Englishman, who was sidelined for four months because of an arthritic joint in his right foot before returning to competition in October, said he went to bed before 7 p.m. in order to wake up at 3:30.That was a little strange morning call, I think 3.30 alarm to come out and play golf is a touch on the early side, he said. I dont ever remember an alarm going off at anything in the threes for any tee off time in the last 17 years.I didnt manage to get any jetlag at all flying from America, but a tee times managed to give me jetlag!Poulter said hes happy with his form over the last five tournaments after changing back to an old putter.A little frustrated not to finish the round off strong once I made five birdies on my outward 9 this morning, so it could have been a few better, but Im in position. Luis Gonzalez Jersey . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Alex Avila Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. http:///...ge-de-la-rosa-jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. A letter drafted by U.S. and Canadian anti-doping leaders urging Russias removal from the upcoming Olympics is circulating days before the public release of a report expected to detail a state-sponsored doping system that corrupted the countrys entire sports program.The letter, drafted last week and obtained by The Associated Press, is being prepared to be sent to the International Olympic Committees president and executive board after the Monday release of a report by investigator Richard McLaren.The letter calls for the IOC to act by July 26 to ensure that Russias Olympic Committee and sports federations will not be allowed in Rio de Janeiro, where the Games are set to start Aug. 5. The letter encourages exceptions for Russia-born athletes who can prove they were subject to strong anti-doping systems in other countries.A statement from Pat Hickey, the president of the European Olympic Committee, said the letter undermined the integrity and therefore the credibility of this important report.My concern is that there seems to have been an attempt to agree (on) an outcome before any evidence has been presented, Hickey said.USADA CEO Travis Tygart said the letter, which has backing from anti-doping agencies in a number of countries and athlete groups from around the world, was drafted with no intent for it to become public unless the McLaren report contains evidence of a major state-sponsored doping program.Of course, we want and hope for universal inclusion, but were not blind to the evidence already out there, Tygart said. And if were not preparing for all potential outcomes, then we are not fulfilling our promise to clean athletes.The McLaren report was sparked by a New York Times story that accused the Russian government of helping to manipulate tests at the Sochi Games so cheaters wouldnt get caught.Preliminary findings from the report, released last month, found mandatory state-directed manipulation of laboratory analytical results operating within the Moscow anti-doping lab from at least 2011 through the summer of 2013. Those findings also said Russias Ministry of Sport adviised the laboratory which of its adverse findings it could report to WADA, and which it had to cover up. Clay Buchholz Jersey. Based in part on that information, the letter to the IOC anticipates that the McLaren report will show the Russian government helped organize a systematic undermining of the drug testing of Russian athletes for many years in a successful effort to cheat to win.The AP also obtained a letter written by Beckie Scott, head of the athlete committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency, urging athletes to sign on to the U.S.-Canada letter. Scott informs athletes that, in addition to support from U.S. and Canadian anti-doping leaders Tygart and Paul Melia, the letter also has backing from anti-doping agencies in Germany, New Zealand, Japan, France, Denmark and Norway.Last week, IOC President Thomas Bach said it was important to strike the right balance between collective responsibility and individual justice in dealing with results from the McLaren report.It is obvious that you cannot sanction or punish a badminton player for infringement of rules or manipulation by an official or lab director in the Winter Games, Bach said.Already, tracks governing body, the IAAF, has suspended Russias track team from the Olympics after a separate investigation turned up evidence of a state-sponsored doping system used to benefit that team. The Court of Arbitration for Sport is expected to rule July 21 on the eligibility of 68 Russian athletes who have appealed to compete in Rio.McLaren was given permission to look into all Russian sports, and the letter being drafted for the IOC is written as if they all have been corrupted.We agree and believe a full suspension is the only available and appropriate result having regard to the findings and conclusions set out in the report, it said.In an interview on Tuesday, Tygart urged a full Russian ban, but said he had not seen the report in its entirety. He did not immediately respond to messages left by the AP on Saturday. ' ' '