It’s Friday, everybody say yay…

Weather: Improving. Temperatures will be on the upswing over the weekend, with sunny skies today and a high in the middle 50s. Lows tonight will be just above freezing. Saturday will be even nicer with highs in the middle 60s and lows in the upper 40s. Sunday starts out mostly sunny with highs in the upper 60s, then scattered showers move in that night with lows in the lower 50s.

Alterations. With prospects unlikely that the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a stay that will delay a lower court’s order, probate judges across Alabama are preparing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Monday. The state government has altered its application form, with the spaces that formerly said “bride” and “groom” changed to simply “spouse,” with check boxes for the sex of each.

Sports: Last-minute heroics. High school boys basketball area tournaments were in full swing Thursday night, with several games going down to the wire. Gardendale stayed alive for a few more minutes when Austin Hicks hit a 3-pointer in the last seconds of regulation time to send their game with Woodlawn into overtime, but the Colonels turned the tables by hitting a bucket at the buzzer in the extra period to eliminate the Rockets with a 52-50 victory. Also, Pinson Valley advanced thanks to a pair of free throws in the final seconds by Trey Minnifield, giving the Indians a 55-54 win over Center Point. Elsewhere in first-round action, Mortimer Jordan knocked out Hayden 63-58, Locust Fork dumped Good Hope 63-37, and Tarrant ousted Sumiton Christian 77-65. And in the Class 3A Area 8 championship game, Fultondale nearly pulled off a huge upset over host Midfield, but the third-ranked Patriots staged a big comeback in the second half for a 63-58 win. Tonight, the girls return to the court with Mortimer Jordan hosting Springville in an area championship game, while Locust Fork travels to Oneonta.