Cautious optimism in CBA talks; heads up, don’t duck; Teemu tavern and grill (Puck Headlines)

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• Ryan Suter stars in USA Hockey's instructional video, "Heads up, don't duck", which aims to reduce spinal cord injuries by encouraging kids to keep their heads up when they hit the boards. It should be effective, since even the slow-motion clips of the actors going head-first into the boards make me uncomfortable. [USA Hockey]

• Elliotte Friedman on Tuesday's lengthy CBA negotiation session. He also furthers the growing legend of loveable billionaire Ron Burkle. [CBC]

• "Cautiously optimistic" was the term of the day Tuesday. Larry Brooks underscores the need for caution. [NY Post]

• George Johnson, too: "To read Done Deal into this would be ill-advised. No one in possession of all their faculties should be conned into reading pending solution from one night of talks. We've been led lemming-like down that particular garden path before." [Calgary Herald]

• Adrian Dater, optimist: "The final haggling is at hand. It's extremely likely, in my estimation, a season will still take place. Can these guys still blow it? Possibly. I believe, from my talks, the biggest issue at hand remains the final number on the "make whole" provision. Before today, the sides were $182 million apart on the make-whole provision. From my conversations with sources, that compromise number remains something of a sticking point, and it could still become a contentious issue." [Denver Post]

• Paul Bissonnette is having a great time in the UK, and has committed to the Cardiff Devils for the duration of the season, unless the lockout ends. [Wales Online]

• Teemu Selanne is opening an upscale steak house in Laguna Beach called Teemu Tavern & Grill. He says it will offer "tavern-style, great American food." Like höt wings? [OC Register]

• Is Gary Bettman about to get chewed out? "'I would think the owners who haven't said anything are going to finally have their say after they get updated on where the discussions are at because nobody is happy where this is at,' said a league insider Tuesday. 'Most certainly, (Bettman) has his allies, but if one owner who isn't happy with the fact that the business is being damaged by this lockout stands up, then I think you could see a group of owners stand up to have their say.'" [Ottawa Sun]

• Kevin Smith says his hockey movie, "Hit Somebody", will now be a miniseries on an unspecified network. My guess? Considering he has a show AMC, well, I'm gonna go with them. [Slash Film]

• Alex Ovechkin helps Nike launch their new line of holiday sportswear and says that blue is his favourite colour. But the Capitals wear red! #controversy [RMNB]

• The lockout is costing retired NHLers their pensions. [ESPN]

• A woman has accused hockey coach Mike Sanderson of assaulting her when she was 13 and he was her figure skating coach. Apparently, she saw him on television one night discussing his son, who died when his head hit the ice after a hockey fight, and it brought back the memories of what happened. This story is messed. [Sun News Network]

• Jo Innes explains why Joffrel Lupul is a badass for playing through the herniated disc in his back in 2009-10. [Backhand Shelf]

• Am I the only one that finds it weird that a 15-year-old's game-worn jersey sold for over $1,000 yesterday? Granted, Connor McDavid projects to be pretty good, and if he is, it'll be worth far more than that, but still. [Buzzing the Net]

• Dale Weise and his girlfriend have become a Dutch ice hockey power couple. [Pass it to Bulis]

• Cool story of a 15-year-old kid from New Brunswick that flicked the switch on a town's Christmas tree after suffering a hockey hit that had doctors wondering if he would ever have use of his arms and legs again. [CBC]

• These two guys got caught playing hockey on an outdoor rink after hours and were handed $100 tickets. They contested them on the following grounds: Seriously? Come on. And they won! [CJAD]

• The top 20 fantasy defencemen of the Eastern Conference. [Dobber Hockey]

• With the downtown economy taking a hit due to the lockout, the San Jose Sharks will be making a gesture of compassion by hosting an ECHL game at HP Pavilion. [Sports Business Digest]

• And finally, while we've already featured country singer Brett Kissel's song, "Hockey Please Come Back", he's since released a music video for the track, so here it is. I like the part where the Oilers fans walk up to the arena and are shocked that it's locked. How can they possibly be so ill-informed? Also, keep your eyes open for the Mark Spector cameo.