[RayzorEdge]

I've been fighting that sentiment towards the minors for two years now, even on this site, but I think part of that is the lack of coverage. There are still teams that don't televise any games, and those that do rarely send telecasts to their parent market. The Amerks are an exception since Time Warner controls the cable systems in both Buffalo and Rochester. Any televised Amerks game can also be seen in Buffalo. I believe the same is true for the Checkers. And this has been going on for years before the lockout.

The NHL broadcasts these days also treat the AHL, and all minors for that matter, like a joke. If you're lucky, you may get a couple of notes how players that have been sent down are performing. I have never seen an Amerks highlight on a Sabres telecast since MSG took over. That's not to say that there aren't any other easy ways to follow the AHL, but when your primary source for hockey treats it as a joke, you left to make the same conclusion until you see it for yourself.

It's great Comcast is covering the Phantoms again, but they need to keep doing it after the lockout is over in order to open eyes to the minors.