It’s Wednesday, and – GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAALLLLL!!!…

Weather: Moving out. We’ll have scattered showers this morning, mostly ending by early afternoon with highs in the middle 60s. Rain chances are 80 percent. A few widely-scattered showers tonight – a 20 percent chance – with lows all the way down to the upper 40s. A few scattered showers on Thursday but otherwise cloudy and breezy, with highs in the lower 70s. Partly cloudy and chilly Thursday night with lows in the middle 40s.

Moving up. Keith Lankford, the principal at Kermit Johnson Elementary in Pinson, is taking a big career step upward. The Times Daily newspaper in Florence reports today that Lankford has been chosen as the new superintendent of the Sheffield City Schools. The board voted unanimously to hire Lankford, who was also a candidate for the same position in Tuscumbia. He’s been an educator for 17 years, the last nine in administrative positions in the Jefferson County Schools. Lankford will take the new job in July.

Sports: Golden. The teams had fought to a 3-3 tie in 80 minutes of regulation time, and the seconds were ticking away in the second five-minute period of extra time when Madasyn Goolsby scored the golden goal – soccer talk for sudden-death, or sudden-victory for the politically correct – to give Gardendale’s girls a 4-3 win at Southside-Gadsden on Tuesday night. The win puts the Rockets into the Class 6A Elite Eight for the first time in program history, and they will host John Carroll Catholic, tentatively set for Saturday at a time to be announced. The Rocket boys didn’t fare as well; they were eliminated by Southside in a 5-1 loss. In Class 1A-3A, Fultondale needed extra time and then some to get past Collinsville. But the Wildcats prevailed by a 2-1 score, winning 4-2 in the shootout. They will face Faith Christian on Saturday in match to be played at Clay-Chalkville, as Fultondale’s field is unplayable… Softball: Pinson Valley easily won its first round game in the Class 6A Area 12 tournament at Clay-Chalkville, routing Shades Valley 18-3 in four innings. They will play the Cougars this afternoon. Elsewhere, Locust Fork went two and out in the Class 4A area tourney in Oneonta, losing to Good Hope 7-2 and J.B. Pennington 7-4.