(Update, 4 p.m. : News reports from Albany indicate that the legislature will extend its session and that a vote on the bill is pending the results of discussions between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican leaders in the state Senate.)

The clock ticks down today on the New York General Assembly legislative session, with most observers expecting a state Senate vote, at some point, on a bill that would legalize same sex marriage in the country’s third most populous state. By most accounts, the vote hinges on no more than the unrevealed decisions of a Republican state Senator or two, at this point. Defeat, or no vote at all, would be a massive disappointment for marriage equality proponents who have lobbied and rallied for the cause for months.

We’re braced … for victory. We prefer to err on the side of optimism, and believe there are at least a few Republican state senators who will opt, in the end, to come down on the side of equal status under the law for their same-sex constituents. But we will have to wait and see, along with everyone else.

We’re keeping an eye on the New York media, most of which is pretty low-key in advance of any vote. The rationale, we presume, is: What else can be said? It happens, or it does not.

At The New York Times, the City Room blog considers the actual language surrounding same-sex marriage legislation.

The New York Post says OK for gay marriage is ‘rite’ around the corner ... and "Gov. Cuomo and Senate Republican boss Dean Skelos could say, "I do" as soon as today on a historic gay-marriage bill that includes strengthened exemptions for religious groups ..."

Could. Should.

Will?