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08/30/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The biggest decisions most 16-year-old boys have to make involve a choice of which car to buy, which girl to ask to the dance, or what their Facebook status will be.
But Theo Walcott was not your typical 16-year-old.
Instead of facing such life-altering decisions, Walcott's biggest concern involved which English soccer powerhouse he would allow to pay him millions of dollars.
He had teams like Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United among others clamoring for his services, and in the end he completed a move from Southampton to Arsenal to begin a a five-year period of great highs and equally significant lows.
At 17, Walcott got to experience the euphoria of being a shock inclusion in former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson's 2006 World Cup squad, despite the fact that he had yet to start a Premiership match for the Gunners.
Although he failed to see any time in Germany at the World Cup, Walcott made his first big impression in a World Cup qualifying match for England at Croatia in September 2008, scoring a hat trick in England's 4-1 win.
But those three goals remain the only three that he has scored in international competition, and after suffering through an injury-plagued season for Arsenal that saw him limited to only 15 starts because of shoulder, back, knee and hamstring problems, Walcott was left off of Fabio Capello's 23- man World Cup squad this past summer, marking a low point in his career.
Walcott admitted that the decision left him in tears, but once he got past the initial disappointment, it was time to look forward to this season.
"I had a good think about it, didn't blame anyone. I had a nice break and went away and relaxed," Walcott told Sky Sports. "I've had a great preseason, I wanted to get playing and show what I can do.
"I had a lot of injuries last season. This season is more to push on and get on the goal sheet a little more often."
And Walcott has done nothing to disappoint, scoring four goals in two starts so far this season, while also displaying an improved ability to finish.
Walcott has found a home on the right wing in a talented Arsenal attack, and Gunners manager Arsene Wenger believes that he used his World Cup snub as motivation heading into this season.
"He is a guy who keeps his feet on the ground," Wenger told the Telegraph. "He takes life in a positive way. The glass is half-full, not half-empty. So he took that as another challenge. That's what's amazing about Theo.
"He is 21, he is now at an age when players normally start. He is not at the peak of his game. He has to keep his attitude right. And he has to avoid injury."
That last part is one of the main things that has defined Walcott's young career so far, with injury problems limiting him to just 28 starts over the past two seasons for Arsenal.
When he signed with the Gunners as a precocious 16-year-old, the club certainly had to hope for more return on its investment over the first three years than the nine goals in 86 appearances that Walcott delivered.
But Wenger is right to remind everyone that Walcott is, after all, just 21, and that his best years are still to come.
It will be interesting to see if Walcott can maintain his high level of performance over the course of the season, since staying healthy and being consistent have been two things that have so far eluded him in his career.
Following a disastrous World Cup, England fans will no doubt be looking for any signs of progress as the team begins its Euro 2012 qualifying campaign on Friday with a match against Bulgaria.
Capello himself is in a similar position as Walcott, with both looking to prove themselves all over again and trying to turn the page from this past summer.
So it was no surprise that Walcott found himself included in Capello's team, with another chance to prove that he is anything but ordinary.
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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