Missouri's Danario Alexander Selected For ESPN.com All-America Team

Despite posting one of the most prolific receiving seasons in college football history, Missouri wideout Danario Alexander grew accustomed to having his robust numbers in 2009 neglected by those deemed worthy of dolling out postseason awards.

First, Alexander was inexplicably left off the list of candidates for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given annually to college football's best receiver. Alexander produced 1,644 yards this past regular season, but because more than half of his damage (943 yards) came during MU's final five games, he wasn't considered when it came time for the Biletnikoff's selection committee to release its list of 10 semi-finalists in October.

Yes, October.

Among those 10, obviously, were the three finalists: Bowling Green's Freddie Barnes , Texas' Jordan Shipley , and Notre Dame's Golden Tate , who ultimately captured the award . Per the Biletnikoff's idiotic selection process, I suppose the three aforementioned receivers deserved the recognition.

But, when you consider that the onus of a team's success is strongly skewed toward what goes down in November and December, it's clear Alexander is the victim of a major screw job and deserved at least the chance to be mentioned in the same breath as the other three.

Here's the numbers to prove it.

To add insult to injury, the Associated Press left Alexander off its All-American first team , opting to go with Tate and Shipley, both of whom were out-gained by Alexander by nearly 300 yards. The AP did manage to find a spot for MU's all-time leader in receiving yards on its second team, but who the hell remembers those who finish second?

Strike two for the oblivious and largely biased national media.

Alas, leave it to perhaps the sports world's most prejudiced and monopolizing media network to get it right. ESPN.com released its 2009 All-America Team on Friday and though it must have been eating away at several Worldwide Leader execs that Tim Tebow couldn't be selected as a receiver, Alexander finally was served a heaping bowl of justice.

I praise the ESPN writers—or whomever was responsible for compiling the team—for recognizing Alexander's accomplishments, which included eclipsing Jeremy Maclin's single-season receiving mark, but a glaring lack of sufficient research (or simple intelligence) could very well put a damper on this moment of vindication.

For whatever reason, ESPN.com senior writer Ivan Maisel, who announces the team, refers to Alexander as a junior who has decided to forgo his senior season. Unreal.

View this video to see who else was selected.

You can view this article and more at my page at Examiner.com .