Google has posted — on Super Bowl Sunday, no less — its "only statement for the time being" regarding Microsoft's bid for Yahoo. At 291 words, it's far too long to read as you prepare to watch my UNDEFEATED NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS crush Sam Gustin's New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. Here's the 100-word version.

Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo! raises troubling questions. This is about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation.

Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies — and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets. Could the acquisition of Yahoo! allow Microsoft to extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the Internet? Could a combination of the two take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors' email, IM, and web-based services?

We believe that the interests of Internet users should come first as the merits of this proposed acquisition are examined and alternatives explored.