FRISCO Anders Bjork Jersey , Texas (AP) — A year ago, Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Joe Looney grabbed the spotlight during training camp as the prankster who took the field in star running back Ezekiel Elliott’s jersey, his cover blown by the gut sticking out under No. 21.

Now that Looney has become the starting center under the serious circumstances of Travis Frederick’s battle against a rare neurological disorder, the career backup plans to keep his sense of humor.

“Things are still the same,” Looney said Thursday, almost exactly a year after a similar throng of reporters surrounded his locker to discuss his antics in practice at team headquarters.

“Football is a game. And I’m going to come out here and have fun every day doing it. Sometimes it’s not going to be perfect. But at the end of the day, this is a game and I’ve got to enjoy it.”

Looney and the rest of the Cowboys will have Frederick on their mind as they prepare to start the regular season. The 27-year-old Frederick will likely miss the visit to Carolina on Sept. 9 and any number of games after that.

The Cowboys simply don’t know how long Frederick will be out as he undergoes treatment for Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an auto-immune condition that causes the body to attack a network of nerves around the brain and spinal cord.

Weakness is one of the primary symptoms, in some cases signaled by burning sensations similar to what football players call “stingers,” usually injuries around the neck. That’s what Frederick was describing to the team when the Cowboys were still in California for training camp.

Frederick was cleared by a specialist in the Los Angeles area over concerns about his neck. But symptoms persisted after the Cowboys returned to Texas. He got the diagnosis this week and was in his third day of treatment Thursday.

The 2016 All-Pro said in a statement issued by the team that treatment will continue for several days. And while Frederick and his teammates are optimistic he will return soon, nobody can say when.

Most people recover from even the most severe cases of the disease, but some will continue to have some degree of weakness, according to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Former NFL lineman Mark Schlereth missed the second half of the 1993 season with Washington because of Guillain-Barre and wrote on Twitter that he didn’t fully regain his strength for a year. But Schlereth played until 2000 and won two Super Bowls with Denver after the diagnosis.

“It’s tough Mike Green Jersey ,” said 2014 All-Pro guard Zack Martin, one of Frederick’s best friends on the team. “During training camp, he really didn’t know what was going on. He was kind of telling us how he was feeling. It’s tough that he didn’t know until a couple of days ago.”

Owner Jerry Jones said he was relieved to get the diagnosis but deflected several questions about the severity of the illness, which likely will determine how long Frederick is out. Frederick said he was encouraged by doctors telling him they thought they caught the disease early.

In retrospect, there was a telling moment early in camp in California when Frederick was uncharacteristically pushed back several feet right after the snap by defensive tackle Antwaun Woods in one-on-one drills. A frustrated Frederick shoved Woods, causing a brief scuffle.

“It’s amazing to me that he’s been out here going through two-a-days and creating half the fights because he probably wasn’t satisfied within himself how he was responding (as) I look back on it,” Jones said. “But that’s Frederick.”

Jones didn’t want to discuss the idea of adding another center, although the Cowboys did sign undrafted rookie Jacob Ohnesorge this week.

“I haven’t and I don’t have a plan as to how we’ll work through this relative to the position on the team,” Jones said.

Martin, the right guard, has taken snaps at center occasionally since joining Dallas but is still viewed as an emergency option. He will miss the rest of the preseason but expects to be ready for the opener after hyperextending his left knee in the exhibition loss to Cincinnati last weekend.

Looney, who turns 28 next week, has started 13 of 59 games in six years. He has played all 32 games in two seasons with the Cowboys Walter Payton Jersey , with three starts. Looney started a career-best six games in his only season with Tennessee in 2015.

“Joe’s played more football with the ones this year than he ever has,” coach Jason Garrett said. “I think we’re playing better in combination because of the reps he’s gotten. He’s a veteran. He’s poised. He’s composed. He’s smart. I think he’s fit in really well.”

The 315-pound Looney didn’t fit into Elliott’s jersey very well. The increased importance of his role — replacing a four-time Pro Bowl player who hasn’t missed a game in five seasons — doesn’t mean Looney has stopped thinking about his next gag.

“You’ve got to be the same person every day,” he said. “It’s unfortunate what’s going on right now. We’re praying for Travis and wish nothing but the best for him. I’m definitely going to crack some jokes when I see him.”

The Cowboys can use the humor right now.

WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals are approaching July 4 on the verge of becoming what nobody predicted them to be when the season started — a .500 club.

Washington fell to 42-41 Monday night with 4-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox, their sixth loss in seven games. Once again, they did almost enough to win, falling behind 3-0 and rallying within one before Craig Kimbrell retired Anthony Rendon with the tying run on base to end it.

Max Scherzer, who has had an impressive year at the plate as well as on the mound, ironically was done in by friend and former pitching teammate Rick Porcello, whose bases-loaded double off Scherzer in the second inning made it 3-0.

“I wish I had a lot to say about that, but I don’t really know what happened,” Porcello, who improved to 10-3, told NESN.com. “Obviously I know he’s got a big fastball and I just got lucky. He got to the top of his windup and I told myself start swinging and I hit it.”

With the loss Marlon Mack Jersey , Washington dropped seven games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.

“This is where the test is, that even when things aren’t going your way, when things are bleak, when we haven’t been playing great baseball, you have to find a way to take and find certain things you are doing well and just try to build off those,” Scherzer, winless in his last five starts, told MASN.com. “That’s just what the whole team has to do.”

The Red Sox (57-29) survived solo homers by Rendon in the fourth, Daniel Murphy in the sixth and Bryce Harper in the eighth.

Reliever Joe Kelly surrendered the Harper homer to cut Boston’s lead to 4-3. Since the start of June, Kelly has pitched 9 1/3 innings and allowed 12 hits and nine earned runs.

“We’ll keep working with him, one thing that he needs to do better is tempo,” Red Sox manager Joey Cora said. “I think his tempo is going the other way instead of being more aggressive, and just grab the ball and throw it. So Womens Randall Cobb Jersey , we’ll talk to him.”

Boston left-hander Brian Johnson (1-2, 4.28) opposes right-hander Tanner Roark (3-9, 4.10) on Tuesday night.

Johnson allowed a run in four innings for the Red Sox Thursday night against the Angels in place of Steven Wright, who went on the disabled list with a knee injury early last week. Tuesday could be Johnson’s last turn in the rotation with Drew Pomeranz close to returning.

Roark is glad to put June in his rearview mirror. He went 1-4 with a 6.08 ERA in five starts and one relief appearance, surrendering 18 earned runs in 26 2/3 innings. He did show improvement last time out, allowing two runs — one earned — on seven hits over six innings of a 4-3 loss to the Phillies while sporting a mustache and mutton chops.

“Tanner pitched good enough to win and that was good to see,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told the Washington Post. “He started off a little erratic and then all of a sudden he started getting the ball down, which is good. He pitched well.”

Roark, sounding like any respectably superstitious baseball player, told the Post he’s keeping the mutton chops.

“I feel like it’s a pretty decent look,” he said.

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