NEWS ROUNDUP: MILLER, DEMPSTER SUSPENSIONS

I'll be heading back to college in less than a week, so updates will probably be a bit scarce. To compensate, I think I'll go over the biggest stories going on in the four major sports at the time of my postings and go from there. Let's a go!

NBA & NHL: Jack. It's their offseason, which means nothing's going on. The only interesting thing that's happening right now is uniform changes.

Speaking of uniform changes, let's take a look at the Sharks' new digs. First, what they had been wearing:

Now, the new uniforms:

The Sharks had a fire sale on stripes apparently. The stripes on the shoulders and lower part of the shirt have been deleted and one orange stripe in the arm pattern is gone. The primary home and away uniforms now more closely resemble the black alternate that the team has been wearing for some time (and will continue to wear). Take a gander:

All in all, I'd say the uniforms are pretty sweet. Very simple, but sweet. Remarkable considering how busy a lot of uniforms are these days.

MLB: Ryan Dempster was suspended five games yesterday after throwing at and hitting Alex Rodriguez during Sunday's Red Sox/Yankees game. Dempster has also been fined an undisclosed amount.

Will this really send a message? Pitchers who get suspended for five or so games are essentially missing one game due to how pitching rotations work in the majors. So Ryan Dempster is effectively getting a slap on the wrist for throwing an object at a high velocity at a fellow human being (regardless of how you or I may feel about Alex Rodriguez, he's still a major league player and should be protected as such).

If MLB really wants to send a message to pitchers who intentionally throw at batters, the suspensions should be more severe due to the fact that starting pitchers, unlike hitters, are playing what amounts to a 20-30 game schedule within the normal 162 game season. So levy 15, 20, even 25 game suspensions which equates to roughly three to five games these pitchers would be in the starting rotation. It would be far more inconvenient for a team to allow their pitchers to employ these low rent tactics if they would lose the pitchers for an extended period of time, rather than what amounts to one game.

NFL: Speaking of suspensions, Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller will be suspended for the first six games of the 2013 season. Miller is far and away the Broncos best pass rusher, accumulating 30 sacks in his first 31 games since being taken with the second overall pick in the 2011 draft. This will hurt the Broncos in the early goings of the season, but it's not going to be as bad as you might think.

The Broncos have two road games in their first six games (at the Giants in week 2 and at the Cowboys in week 5) and have home games against the Ravens, Raiders, Eagles and Jaguars in the meantime. If the Broncos had Miller at their disposal for these games, the Broncos could potentially go 6-0 to start the season. Without Miller, they'll likely finish 4-2, with only the Ravens and Eagles looking like they could give the Broncos trouble.

Von Miller is arguably the best player on the Broncos defense, but he's not the only good player on that side of the ball; they'll still be an effective unit without him, but they won't be as dangerous as they would have been with him in the lineup. Meanwhile on offense, as long as Peyton Manning is healthy, points will rain from the sky in an orange and navy barrage. Additionally, Knowshon Moreno and rookie Montee Ball will make that backfield dangerous. The Broncos will likely have one of the most formidable and balanced offenses in the AFC this season.

So don't cry for the Broncos; they'll be inconvenienced, but in the grand scheme of things, everything's hunky dory in the Mile High City.