It's back off-again. Over the week-end Yahoo rejected Carl Icahn and Microsoft's "take it or leave it" proposal, which required Yahoo to sell its search business to Microsoft, throw out its board and management, and hand control of the rest of the company to Carl Icahn. Not surprisingly even the analysts and shareholders who had previously criticized Yahoo for letting takeover talks with Microsoft collapse earlier this year referred to the "stupid" offer as a stunt. But don't despair, all is not lost! Yahoo chairman/CEO Roy Bostock says the company is more than happy to consider a sale and has "emphatically" told Ballmer that Yahoo would be "willing to sell to Microsoft at $33 a share or to negotiate a search deal after the proxy fight."

Meanwhile over at AdAge Simon Dumenco says the whole "on-again, off-again, full-frontal, roundabout, all-or-nothing, piecemeal" relationship is bad for Microsoft's image and that this entire deal (or non-deal) is evidence that Microsoft head Steve Ballmer is running "amok" now that Bill Gates has effectively left the building. But that doesn't mean we want all this "pouncing and striking" and "ducking and weaving" to end! Oh no, we have to agree with Dumenco that as far as media "dramedies" go it's too much fun. The only thing missing now is some Rupe.