Yahoo! is announcing their quarterly numbers at 5 pm EDT today -- and you can bet they'll be going HUGE!

All in an effort to squeeze as much cash out of the impending takeover by Microsoft and try and boost the $44 Billion offer already on the table. (This merger is going to happen one way or another -- no matter what Jerry Yang cries about to the press. Only way it doesn't happen is if Ballmer calls it off -- which doesn't look likely.)

The Redmond crew will almost immediately call them on their bullshit and say that there isn't a hope in hell they did the numbers they did -- all in an effort to keep the price down to the current offer.

Yahoo! (don't you just hate that exclamation point -- are we a 9 year old girl writing to "Tiger Beat" or something?) has already tried to make Microsoft jealous by playing footsie with the kids at Google.

Of course, history has always dictated that you have the greatest company EVER when Bill G (and now Steve B.) come calling -- so the precedent has been set and we are well on our way to the end game. Yahoo's first move in this coordinated dance plays out later this afternoon.