Ryan Slocum appeared to be fighting back tears as he dedicated his Sunday (9/25) sportscast to Jeff Betz. The ABC-12 mainstay was obviously emotional, as he paid tribute to the 17-year-old Flushing High School Senior who passed away earlier in the day.

"He was only 17 years old. Jeff's dream was to become a sportscaster. Just like some other some other bum from Flushing 18 years ago," Slocum said, poking fun of himself. "Well, Jeff, tonight you are, my man. This is your show."

Betz suffered from the lung disease Pulmonary Fibrosis. He lived with an oxygen tank until about a year ago, when he received a double lung transplant. The procedure was successful, but Jeff's body began to reject its new organs about two weeks ago. He passed away early Sunday.

Our thoughts are with Jeff's family in their time of loss.

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