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Former Arsenal and England striker Alan Smith feels Theo Walcott can have no complaints after being left out of Roy Hodgson’s provisional 26-man squad for Euro 2016.The Gunners forward has struggled for form since returning from a calf injury in December, scoring just five goals in 28 appearances during that period.Walcott himself did not seem surprised to miss out, tweeting: I am of course disappointed not to make the squad, but I have spoken with Roy and respect his decision. Smith backed the decision not to include Walcott in the squad but admits the inclusion of Newcastle winger Andros Townsend was a little surprising. Theo Walcott reacts on social media to the news that hes not in Englands provisional squad for Euro 2016 He would have been expecting it, I think. He knows he hasnt produced the form for Arsenal since coming back from injury that he would need to, given the competition for that place, Smith said of Walcott on Sky Sports Now.Having said that, it was there to go for because Townsend has come from left field a little bit.Walcott didnt take part yesterday [in the 4-0 win over Aston Villa] because of a slight hamstring injury. He would have been upset but would have accepted it. What now for Walcott? What now for Theo Walcott after Euro 2016 squad exclusion Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph also made the initial squad, despite an indifferent campaign that saw him score twice in 27 appearances for City in all competitions.Former England player and England U21 coach Stuart Pearce, also a guest on Sky Sports Now, admitted he had not expected Delph to be included.It surprised me. I dont think he has had a real impact at the back end of the season, said Pearce.But Roy likes him and we have spoken about that loyalty, you build up a credit with the manager. Manchester Citys Fabian Delph has earned a place in England squad I think Delph being in the 26 is on credit, not on the immediate couple of months to finish the season.One player whose inclusion was expected is Premier League winner Danny Drinkwater.Its deserved. When you go into major tournaments, you need players who are on form, Danny Higginbotham said on the show.There havent been many better midfielders in the Premier League this season. He has shown what he is capable of. Here are the keys dates for Englands Euro 2016 campaign He can get forward, we saw with the goal he scored yesterday [in the 1-1 draw at Chelsea], but more importantly he looks after that defence really well.If England are going to be more attack-minded and If you have that option of him or Eric Dier, obviously Dier will be the one that is going to play but its a great option to have.Its a very good inclusion if he remains in the squad.Also See:Hodgson: No Rooney guaranteesRashford and Wilshere in squadRooney wants midfield roleEngland fixturesNike Air Max 1 2020 . The 15th-ranked Canadian men lost the opening two games of their European tour: 19-15 to No. 17 Georgia and 21-20 to No. Nike Air Max 1 Store ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. https://www.cheapairmax1store.com/ . 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Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal.NEW YORK -- NCAA President Mark Emmert says he is pleased to see how well Penn States football team has bounced back from the sanctions the program received in 2012 after the Sandusky scandal.No. 5 Penn State (11-2) is having its best season since Jerry Sandusky, a longtime assistant of late Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno, was arrested in 2011 for sexually abusing boys. The Nittany Lions won their last nine games and the Big Ten title.I think its terrific, said Emmert, who spoke at an intercollegiate athletics forum sponsored by Learfield Communications on Wednesday in Manhattan.I think what Penn State went through is an awful situation and its still playing out sadly. But the football program is still Penn State and they showed it and they did really well. The university has done an amazing job to put in place all of the things their board wanted and our board wanted.The NCAA went outside its usual process to sanction Penn State in 2012. The school was hit with massive scholarship limitations and a four-year bowl ban, along with fines. The school also agreed to enact dozens of reforms recommended in a report by former FBI director Louis Freeh on the scandal.The original scholarship and postseason penalties were eventually rolled back. Emmert said he was pleased the roll back helped Penn State recover more quickly, and that NCAA sanctions are not meant to cripple an athletic program.Ive always said and always believed that Penn State first and foremost is a great university ... and secondly its got wonderful sports traditions. How could you not be pleased that theyre playing good football again? Thats very good stuff, he said.Emmert covered numerous topics in a 30-minute question-and-answer session, and after he spoke with group of reporters for 15 more minutes.- He declined to weigh in on whether the College Football Playoff selection committee made the right decision with the four teams it chose to compete for the national championship, but he did say he would prefer an eight-team playoff that would include automatic bids for the Power Five conference champions.I think a conference championship ought to count for something. I think how you determine your champion is up to somebody else, Emmert said. Id like to see all five of the conference champions get in thhe playoff.dddddddddddd.The NCAA has no authority over the College Football Playoff.Thats why we live in America. Everybody can have an opinion, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany joked, when asked about Emmerts comments. He doesnt have a vote, though.- Emmert said he would like to see the new NCAA football oversight committee better define the purpose of bowl games. There are 40 and some spots are given to teams with sub.-500 records. The NCAA does not run bowl games. It does have a sanctioning process, but mostly it lets conferences decide whether they want to put on games.What do we, the membership of intercollegiate athletics, want bowl games to be? Emmert said. Are they a 13th game thats an exhibition game? Are they a reward for having won something? We have teams in now that can get into a bowl game having won two or three of their conferences games.- The NCAA pulled its championship events out of North Carolina in September because of a state law that limits anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people. The decision was later criticized by Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins in an Wall Street Journal op-ed. Jenkins said the NCAA should not be a moral arbiter.He and I have chatted a lot about that issue, and obviously I disagree and obviously, more importantly the board of governors disagreed, Emmert said.The NCAA will choose sites for future championship events in April and part of that is a fairly complex process, Emmert said, of looking at the local and state laws of potential host locations.One of the considerations we have now as we make those decisions, as the sport committees make decisions about where they go, is going to be LGBT rights, he said. I think and hope and believe, maybe wishfully, that North Carolina will modify their position because citizens want that.- Emmert said the Big 12 deciding not to expand was a good thing for college sports.I think the last round was very disruptive. It had a negative impact on so many schools, even personal relationships. It was hard and Im glad we didnt have to go through that again. Even on a smaller scale, Emmert said.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP ' ' '