In the early hours of January 5, 2010, the Angels family suffered another loss with the passing of veteran announcer Rory Markas. Known to Angels fans for closing out every Angels’ win with “Just another Halos victory” and forever associated with the team for his call at the end of Game 7 of the 2002 World Series “Here’s the pitch to Lofton. Fly ball centerfield. Erstad says he’s got it . . . Erstad makes the catch! The Anaheim Angels are the champions of baseball!”

The Lakers (28-7) were supposed to be the landlords of Staples Center, but they played every bit of the tenant roll tonight against their cross-hall rivals the Los Angeles Clippers (16-18) in a 102-91 upset. The Clips snapped a 9-game losing streak to the purple and gold and have won their third straight at home since the 2006-07 season. The Lakers failed to win their 5th game in a row and drops their road record to 8-4.