Rupert Murdock Yahoo's Savior From Microsoft?

In the world of big business, there are few people on the planet that are more powerful than Rupert Murdock and Bill Gates. Right now, both of these powerful men are in the process of fighting over search portal Yahoo. In recent years, Rupert Murdock's US mega company, News Corp, has been making media deals with both large and small companies with one of the latest being 'The Wall Street Journal'. Only a couple of weeks ago, Microsoft made an unsolicited bid to acquire Yahoo which was quickly rejected by Yahoo management.

That initial hostile take over bid by Microsoft did wake the folks up over at Yahoo and the people in charge of that company now know that their heads will soon be on the chopping block if they don't find another company to help them prosper and grow. Today, Rupert Murdock stepped in to help Yahoo fend off that Microsoft hostile take over and he will help current management at Yahoo to take the company to new levels of growth and prosperity. In this new arrangement between Rupert Murdock (News Corp) and Yahoo there is one word that is different than what was offer by Microsoft. That word is partnership which certainly sounds much better to Yahoo management than hostile take over.

In my view, Microsoft is still running their company with a 1990's style of management. Back in the 1990's, the way business was done in the Internet Sector was, 'if you can't beat them, buy them'. However, that was 10 years ago and the world and the Internet have changed a great deal since then. The business model of Google is more accepted in the world today than the, button down, propriety systems that Microsoft made famous a decade ago. While Google gets most of the search engine attention these days, multiple millions of people still use Yahoo each day mainly because of their popular email system.

In the end, Microsoft is going to lose and not take over Yahoo in my opinion. Rupert Murdock will see to that in short order as Murdock and Yahoo are proving once again that Microsoft's new CEO Steve Ballmer is no Bill Gates when it comes to running that company. Maybe it is just impossible for a company the size of Microsoft to change in today's marketplace? There was a time when Microsoft controlled almost every computer with some version of their operating systems. Those days have changed and the Internet has made it easier for Microsoft competitors to gain the upper hand.

Read more about Internet Search Engines:

Search Engine War, Google Against Microsoft/Yahoo Takeover
Will Google Dominate Wireless Mobile Like Search?
Money By Google - Stock Price Continues To Climb
Microsoft Live Search Goes Live Against Google/Yahoo
Microsoft Vista Challenges Google In Search Dominance

February 13, 2008 Archives

Michigan/Florida Caucus Likely To Seat Delegates

Early on in the 2008 democratic race for President, the states of Michigan and Florida were punished by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for holding their state primaries earlier than the rules allowed. Michigan and Florida's punishment included not seating their delegates in this summers Democratic National Convention. Little did party leaders know at the time, but the delegates from Florida and Michigan could make a huge difference as to which candidate will win the democratic nomination.

While Florida and Michigan went ahead and held their primaries against the wishes of the DNC, all the major democratic candidates followed the rules and did not campaign in those states when their primaries took place. Now with the democratic race so tight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, delegates in Michigan and Florida could make the difference in the race. People that support Hillary Clinton are now pushing to have Michigan and Florida delegates seated at this summers convention anyway because she won those two state primaries.

Barack Obama would like to see a caucus held in both states before this summers convention in order to settle which candidate will get what delegates from Florida and Michigan. My personal opinion is that Barack Obama is going to win this battle in the end because it would be crazy to let Hillary Clinton take most of the Florida and Michigan delegates when Barack Obama was not even allowed to campaign there. What is ironic about the DNC's decision to punish Florida and Michigan is that now both of these states are much more important than they would have been early on in the campaign.

In 2008, Democrats are in a perfect position to win back the White House if they don't find some way to mess it up. Seating the current delegates from Michigan and Florida after saying they would not be seated would be one of those terrible decisions that could help Democrats snatch defeat from the arms of victory. Every week, Barack Obama increases his lead among delegates in the democratic race for the nomination. If the DNC seats the current delegates from Florida and Michigan and that move causes Obama to lose the race, then I predict John McCain will be the next President of the United States.

I feel certain that there will be a late year caucus in both Florida and Michigan and those two caucuses will probably decide whether it is Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama that represents Democrats in the general election.

Read more about 2008 Elections:

Will Superdelegates Decide The Democratic Nomination?
Voters Want Change, Not Experience In 2008
GOP Tax Cuts Fail To Rally Base
Brokered Democrat Convention Possible This Year
Super Tuesday Polls, Obama/McCain Winners

MLB's Roger Clemens Congressional Testimony

While it is likely that Roger Clemens is not being truthful in his contention that he never used performance enhancing drugs like steroids, it is painful to watch this baseball legend being put through the ringer by a congressional committee. It has been apparent for a long time that MLB fans do not care if players use steroids, which is something that is driving some Members of Congress crazy. In some ways, MLB players and fans have been living in a state of denial for a long time now when it comes to steroid use.

Put simply, steroids are dangerous to the people that take them and the people that interact with them. At the root of the MLB steroid problem is a win at all cost mentality among players, owners and fans. MLB players are paid tremendous salaries and bonuses and they are expected to show up and play at 100% several times per week. Some players believe that steroids give them an edge over the competition and that idea is probably correct. However, that edge comes with a big price which includes future health problems and mental health issues.

From other sports, we have all witnessed what kind of mental health issues can be linked back to steroid abuse. Then there is the long term toll that steroid use places on the players bodies as they age. I believe Roger Clemens is just the latest MLB player that has found himself at the end of his career having to justify whether he won all those games and awards the right way or with the help of performance enhancing drugs. When MLB players first start using steroids, I doubt if any of them even thought that their career accomplishments would be challenged later on because of steroid use.

While millions of people still refer to MLB as their favorite sport, these latest controversies will hurt MLB more down the road than today. Die-hard MLB fans have proven time and time again that they will remain loyal to this sport no matter what. However, the current assumption that most players in MLB are cheating will hurt the sport with new and younger fans in the years to come. There are some big changes on the way for MLB and that is a good thing for the sport whether current fans like it or not.

In sports competition it is important for all athletes to compete using their own abilities supplemented only by hard work and not drugs. It will take years, but MLB will change for the better and in the mean time players like Roger Clemens will continue to fight to restore their reputations.

Read more about Major League Baseball:

Congress Holds Hearings On MLB Steroid Use
Do Fans Want Major League Baseball Cleaned Up?
Barry Bonds Passes Babe Ruth In Home Runs
Baseball Drug Testing For 'Steroids' Should Be Allowed
Barry Bonds Faces Perjury Problems