Finally. I know it's more accepted to root for the underdog, but I'll save that for the Super Bowl. There's a certain satisfaction in seeing the beginning of what is probably -- finally -- the acquisition of Yahoo by Microsoft.

In a world where Google's 17 percent rise in profits for its last quarter are deeply disappointing to investors and analysts, some of whom are starting to wonder about the huge growth that's been predicted for the online advertising market for the next several years, Microsoft is still financially solid, and Yahoo is announcing huge job cuts. Workforce reductions almost invariably thrill investors as a whole, but management knows that they're a sign of desperation -- that includes management inside and outside of Yahoo. Thursday, former Yahoo chief executive Terry Semel, replaced by co-founder Jerry Yang in mid-2007, parted ways with the company's board completely; neither has been able to get a handle on Yahoo's path or exploiting the company's strengths in user base, Internet search and popular applications.

Which is just exciting, however wrong that is. Ballmer's bull in a china shop style will make integrating management and various divisions of the two giants a case study for the ages. Provided, that is, that the Yahoo board approves the offer, and the deal is given the go-ahead. InformationWeek, interestingly, wonders whether regulatory approval of a Microsoft-Yahoo deal would help seal the Google-DoubleClick deal, in turn.