Turkish side Antalyaspor got smoked 2-0 by Bundesliga's Nurnberg FC today, and yes, right there in that picture (taken from the Antalyaspor Web site) shows that one Mr. Bobby Boswell did indeed play in the international friendly, as did Joseph Ngwenya!
The game story is at that link, though unfortunately it's in Turkish.

Yesterday, twenty-three players were named to the United States' roster for next month's Gold Cup by head coach Bob Bradley. While there are a handful of surprising selections sprinkled into the squad, several deserving MLS players have been overlooked, in my opinion.
- Bobby Boswell (D - Houston Dynamo)
Boswell is the anchor of the best defense in Major League Soccer - Houston has given up just nine goals in 14 games this season and Boswell has been on the field for every minute.

Houston has plenty of guys worth protecting here. (Getty Images)

Today we move another day closer to the 2009 expansion draft. Now we turn our focus to the Houston Dynamo.

The Dynamo are a tough team to figure out due to the number of quality players that are both young and old.

Protected Available Exempt Corey Ashe Wade Barrett Danny Cruz Bobby Boswell Mike Chabala Geoff Cameron Ryan Cochrane Brian Ching Tyler Deric Ricardo Clark Tally Hall Brad Davis John Michael Hayden Andrew Hainault Richard Mulrooney Stuart Holden Dominic Oduro Luis Angel Landin Pat Onstad Brian Mullan Abe Thompson Eddie Robinson Erik Ustruck Craig Waibel Cam Weaver

Either way they stand to lose a good player this year.

First, the good news: Houston Dynamo picked up a crucial away point by drawing 1-1 with Panamanian champion Deportivo Arbe Unido. That puts Houston second in their group with two games played. So far, so good for the Dynamo.
Now things get ugly.
DC United fell at home 3-1 to Mexican side Toluca Wednesday night.

As 2008 gave way to 2009, the Houston Dynamo and their fans were faced with many questions: Will a stadium deal get down this year?  How can the team replace the offensive contributions of Nate Jaqua and Dwayne De Rosario?  Will the Dynamo break down and sign a designated player? Who will back up long-time [.

September is almost here and the MLS playoff race is beginning to tighten as teams begin to realize just how much tougher it is to make the post-season than it was a few years ago.

The Home Depot Clasico serves as the weekend's headliner, with the Los Angeles looking to put a stranglehold on the playoff spot it currently holds, while also putting a dent into its arch-rival's own post-season chances.

The weather's crazy. Seattle and Chivas USA are 3-0-0. Colorado's 2-1. Chicago is 2-0-1 despite keeping Cuauhtemoc Blanco on the bench. New England is 2-0-1 despite a revolving door to the injury list.
Defending champion Columbus is 0-2-2. MLS Cup finalist New York is 0-2-1.

 

The Houston Dynamo moved a big step toward keeping together the league's stingiest defense on Monday after re-signing free agent central defender Bobby Boswell to a new long-term contract.

Boswell had finished out his contract with the Dynamo and had been pursuing opportunities overseas, but ultimately chose to return to MLS after enjoying a strong season in 2008.

With the news today of Bobby Boswell's resigning with Dynamo, I feel I have fulfilled Playtherapy's injunction to get the defender after Dynamo signed Tally Hall (I can never get enough of that guy's name) following Playtherapy's earlier post complaining about the O-range's inactivity.
Now Mister3d, the striker is up to you.

The Dynamo are still looking for their first victory of the season after Saturday's 1-0 loss at D.C. United. Bryan Namoff lobbed a ball 50 yards into the box and just over Bobby Boswell's head for Luciano Emilio, who proceeded...

The DC United goalkeeping situation is something which has been in flux for quite some time. Ever since the departure of 2006 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, Troy Perkins, the club has been searching for an answer between the pipes. After the 2007 season, Perkins decided to test his mettle in European soccer, signing with Valerenga of Norway.

D.C. United players Marc Burch (pictured) and Devon McTavish will join forces with the Houston Dynamo's Mike Chabala and Bobby Boswell for the MLS Soccer Stars tour, presented by Armed Forces Entertainment. Running from December 2nd-13th, the tour will send the quartet to military bases in Hawaii, Guam and Kwajalein to put on clinics for kids and adults.

D.C. United 1 : 0 Houston Dynamo
Six Word Novel Recap

The answer, Mr. Webb, is "Undefeated."

Media, Traditional and OtherwiseThe Washington Post, Steve Goff: "Luciano Emilio scored less than two minutes into the second half and, despite playing short-handed for the final 19 minutes because of Jaime Moreno's red card, United upended the Houston Dynamo, 1-0, in an MLS game before just 12,594 at RFK Stadium.

From our good friends at Dynamoplanet.com, Houston Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell, who was long rumored to have been looking into playing in Turkey, will be back on the Houston Dynamo for the 2009 season. However, Glenn Davis's blog had more than just a Boswell signing to point out:
BOSWELL now will join new signing JULIUS JAMES and EDDIE ROBINSON in central defense and the DYNAMO could still sign Canadian ADRIAN HAINAULT who is also capable of playing there.

Here are my votes in the media balloting for the 2009 Major League Soccer All-Star team:

GOALKEEPER (1)
Kasey Keller, Seattle Sounders: Although he doesn't have the best stats in the league, he's having the best year.

DEFENDERS (3)
Chad Marshall, Columbus Crew: Scores goals, shuts down opponents, plays clean.

Cam Weaver and Dave van den Burgh battle again tonight. (Getty Images)

There's nothing like kicking off a week with a good in-state derby. Tonight we get just that for week 21's kickoff as the Houston Dynamo travel to Frisco, TX to face FC Dallas. Both clubs are coming off big wins from last weekend and look to take ownership of El Capitán, the prize given to the winning club in the season series.

This match promises to be a dogfight. The season series between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo featured exactly one goal and a lot of physical defending. If that sounds a lot like what Chivas and the Galaxy went through for the bulk of their five games this season, its not coincidence.

 

The Houston Dynamo moved a big step toward keeping together the league's stingiest defense on Monday after re-signing free agent central defender Bobby Boswell to a new long-term contract.

Boswell had finished out his contract with the Dynamo and had been pursuing opportunities overseas, but ultimately chose to return to MLS after enjoying a strong season in 2008.

As 2008 gave way to 2009, the Houston Dynamo and their fans were faced with many questions: Will a stadium deal get down this year?  How can the team replace the offensive contributions of Nate Jaqua and Dwayne De Rosario?  Will the Dynamo break down and sign a designated player? Who will back up long-time [.

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Fan voting for the 2009 MLS All-Star First XI is now underway. Click HERE for the official ballot. The online fan balloting program, which concludes on July 6, will comprise 25 percent of the total vote for the All-Star First XI, with coaches and general managers, players, and media each holding 25 percent of the vote.

The top teams in the East and West square off tonight as D.C. United faces Chivas USA in the marquee match-up of Week nine.

Six games are on the schedule today and each of them has interesting storylines. While the Seattle-FC Dallas looks like it has blowout written all over it, the other five matches provide their own share of intrigue.

Whether you like cross-country clashes, or tense reunions, this weekend's MLS schedule has something for you.

This weekend in Major League Soccer will be headlined by a battle of East vs. West as five intra-conference match-ups line the schedule. Perhaps more intriguing than those match-ups are the reunions Sigi Schmid will have with former club Columbus and Dwayne DeRosario will have with former club Houston.

Week 18 in Major League Soccer has already gotten off to a bang. Last night's 3-1 thrashing in Giant's Stadium by LA over New York probably set the tone for what this weekend should be like.

The tone was set early and often by LA with Landon Donovan really showing just how good he can be for LA and for MLS.

Continuing our coverage of the US Open Cup coverage tonight...
You can follow all the action at MLSR partner www.USOpenCup.com and follow them on Twitter.
The following match preview comes courtesy of ProstAmerika Soccer:
Houston Dynamo Arrive with More Hands on Deck

Cameron and in form Boswell Available for League Leaders June 21 - Prost Amerika

Brad Davis who was considered by many to be the best opponent Sounders have faced this season (not counting Chelsea), appears to have recovered from the bout of flu that kept him out of Houston's 1-1 draw in Toronto.

Houston had another strong season behind Brian Ching. (Getty Images)

Dominic Kinnear teams always compete, always and the 2009 edition of the Houston Dynamo looked very similar to the ones we've seen win league titles over the last few years. Even though the Dynamo lost their big star in the midfield in a trade to Toronto before the season started everyone knew this team would still compete.

[ed. note: the following was written by United defender Marc Burch, who recently wrapped up a tour of the pacific with teammate Devon McTavish and the Houston Dynamo's Bobby Boswell and Mike Chabala. The four players visited bases in Hawaii, Kwajalein and Guam as part of a Armed Forces Entertainment Tour]

As I'm writing this we just landed in Guam after leaving what I consider as one of the most beautiful places ever - Kwajalein.

Houston Dynamo 1-0 FC Dallas

The Dynamo Girls: Better than FC Dallas?

Q. What do you get if you cross I-45 with a leaky defence and lack of confidence?
A. That's right, Dallas fans - Beaten!

On a fabulous night for football at Robertson Stadium, the Dynamo took down in-state rivals FC Dallas 1-0; a powerful second half header from Kei Kamara off a Stuart Holden cross proving the difference, moving them up to third in the West.

With the US national team storming to victory over Egypt this weekend, domestic matters may have snuck under the radar. But plenty happened in Major League Soccer in Week 14, and where better to bone up on yo' skillz than right here at SPAOTP?
The week got underway at Qwest Field on Wednesday, where DC United faced Seattle Sounders in their first of two games.

Previous Updates
#1 4/12 68 players remaining#2
5/25
37 players remaining
OTFATT is short for "On the field, all the time." In these updates throughout the season, I'll be keeping track of which MLS players have played every minute of every game (regular season only). That feat has been accomplished 35 times in 13 season by 28 different players.

If you'll forgive our stateside fixation on our Premier League blog, but today is decision day for those of us playing fantasy Major League Soccer. With Gold Cup in full swing, injuries and suspensions mounting and the odd schedule quirk it's a tough week to pick.
First of all you have a lot of good players on international duty.

The second half of the season is getting under full swing this weekend. Plenty of good games all over the place to discuss as we head closer to the All-Star break later this month. Some very important clashes in each conference this weekend could really reshape the standings after Saturday night.

Most of the 15 clubs are in action except for RSL, DC and New York.

The 2009 MLS All-Star First XI was unveiled today, with a few surprises making their way onto the list. The players chosen were the highest total vote-getters amongst four different groups of voters: fans, players, media, and coaches/general managers.
Columbus Crew midfielder and reigning MLS MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto was the top vote-getter overall, followed by the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan and Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey.

It seems like an age ago, but we can only begin this weekend's roundup at Giants Stadium last Thursday, where David Beckham made his second Major League Soccer bow for LA Galaxy. In a relatively uneventful game for Beckham (he saved that for the friendly against AC Milan, during which he became involved in an angry confrontation with LA's Riot Squad supporters), the Galaxy swept aside New York Red Bulls, piling the pressure on Juan Carlos Osorio with a 3-1 win.

Former USF star Jeff Cunningham [right] scored the only goal of the game in the twentieth minute to lead FC Dallas to a rare victory over cross-state rival Houston Dynamo. It was the striker's ninth goal of the MLS season.
Cunningham, who had four shots in the match, was also chopped down in the Houston penalty area by Tampa native Bobby Boswell in the twelfth minute.

A pair of Western Conference clashes highlight Major League Soccer's schedule in week 21 as the Seattle Sounders look to halt their road woes, while the Colorado Rapids look to keep Chivas USA's struggles going.

The best match of the weekend takes place on Sunday, with the Chicago Fire facing the Houston Dynamo.

Just the six matches in Major League Soccer this last weekend, with other teams taking advantage of the opportunity to get schooled by Real Madrid in pre-season friendlies. But we don't care about those games here at Football Americana, so let's get down to business.
At Pizza Hut Park, it was that man Jeff Cunningham making the difference once again.

After Cam Weaver was sent off only 17 minutes into the match, Luis Angel Landin got his first goal for the Houston Dynamo less than 10 minutes later before the Kansas City Wizards equalized in the second half Sunday at Robertson Stadium. "I think if we keep 11 men of the field, we win it pretty handily," said Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell.

Here are the Twitterverse Players League groups, A through G, after Friday night's draw. If you want to listen to the recorded audio of the draw, the podcast is available for download by clicking here.
GROUP A Charlie Davies Taylor Twellman Carl Robinson Brian Jordan
GROUP B Danny Dichio Dwayne DeRosario Danny Cruz Hunter Freeman
GROUP C JozyAltidore17 Alecko Eskandarian Michael Chabala Brad Knighton
GROUP D Sacha Kljestan Robbie Rogers Kei Kamara Bobby Rhine
GROUP E Brian Ching Bobby Boswell Lee Nguyen Vincenzo Bernardo
GROUP F Stuart Holden Rohan Ricketts Brian Namoff Chris Tierney
GROUP G Freddy Adu Giuseppe Rossi Edson Buddle Joe Cannon
GROUP H Maurice Edu Brad Guzan Jim Brennan Taylor Graham
Voting begins Monday, October 5th, with groups A through D.

Landon Donovan just scored from the penalty spot in the 110th minute after Bobby Boswell brought down Alan Gordon in the penalty area.