Someone might be close to acquiring Monster - finally.

The who’s-going-to-buy-Monster rumors have come and gone over the years - LinkedIn being one of the most recent - but the buzz this time ‘round may be more than a ploy to pop the stock.

Sources have been pointing to Fall as the time it’s all supposed to go down. Only time will tell, but here are a few of the players in the mix, ranging from logical to not-a-chance-in-hell:

• Microsoft -…

Remember itzbig (see pic)? Trovix? Climber v1.0? The original Jobfox? It’s sort of like remembering your first iPod and its navigation wheel. These were the original “eHarmony for jobs” players.

Similar to the popular dating service, these solutions hoped to magically pair candidates with employers based on sophisticated algorithms.

It didn’t go too well.

Trovix, the big winner, sold to Monster for like $70 million and became …