San Jose - Today Yahoo’s (YHOO) board of directors and senior executive team met with shareholders, who heard upbeat presentations from Chairman Roy Bostock, CEO Jerry Yang, President Sue Decker and CFO Blake Jorgensen, which were followed by questions from shareholders, some demanding Bostock and Yang step down.

According to CNET’s Stephen Shankland who blogged live from the meeting, Bostock sounded “a little defensive” as he described the boards' handling of negotiations with Microsoft over its acquisition attempt: "At no point did the board or management in any way, despite rumors and speculation, ever resist Microsoft's proposal," Bostock said. "There was never any doubt...that the board was open to a deal with Microsoft and for search only if it made sense, but ultimately, there was never a compelling offer put on the table."

Shankland reports that Yang, who followed Bostock, said "We're still very much in a growth business…The Internet is the only industry that's growing in advertising revenue. We believe there's significant growth in the next three years, it's global, and it's a business Yahoo is very well positioned to be in."

According to Bloomberg, Bostock also said that Microsoft never made its $33 a share offer in writing, referring to it as an "offhand comment'' that was never communicated explicitly to the board.

Following the presentations, several shareholders questioned the judgment of the board in the way it handled negotiations with Microsoft and demanded that Bostock step down, but the board avoided a showdown with activist investor Carl Icahn, who did not attend the meeting after Yahoo agreed earlier this week to open up three board seats, one to go to Icahn and the other two to be voted upon.

However, the real news was made outside the meeting, with CNET reporting that Microsoft released a statement criticizing Yahoo's depiction of their negotiations: "Yahoo is attempting to rewrite history yet again with statements that are not supported by the facts."

It was also reported by TechCrunch that Time Warner has decided to block the possible appointment of former AOL Chairman Jon Miller to the Yahoo board. Miller, who was supported by Icahn and Yang, had been considered a shoe in.

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