NAIROBI, Kenya -- They were used to running barefoot on baking ground. They were raw, untrained. All eager.Each day, the five runners who grew up in the Kakuma refugee camp pounded the dusty tracks past thousands of makeshift tents to pass the time.Until there was a lifeline.Workers from the foundation of former marathon world-record holder Tegla Loroupe arrived to hold athletic trials, and the five excelled. For this group of runners, many with no family and all with little schooling, running could offer food, a solid house. Proper shoes.When I started the project, I said `What can I do with these people? coach Volker Wagner said. What he didnt have to worry about was their eagerness to run.The five runners are refugees, five of 65 million across the world who have been displaced from their homes. Now, theyre also track athletes, and theyre going to the Olympics.The runners, all from South Sudan, are part of the IOCs first 10-member refugee team. Its a team of athletes whose roads to Rio de Janeiro have surely been harder, but whose journeys might ultimately be more heartwarming, than any of the other 10,000-plus athletes who will compete at the globes biggest sports event.When we go to Rio we are going to give a message that a refugee can do anything any other human being can do, said Yiech Pur Biel, a 21-year-old 800-meter runner who now trains with the group at a base in the foothills just outside of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.The refugee team is made up of sportsmen and women who have talent and drive, and the same dreams of competing on the worlds largest stage as athletes from all over the globe. But they have no way of representing their countries, countries they were forced to flee. So theyve been given a flag, the Olympic flag, to march behind at the opening ceremony in Rio and to compete under at the games.They have stories of unfathomable hardship.Yiech was a 9-year-old boy caught up in the Sudanese civil war in 2005 when his mother -- with no food and no other hope -- left him with a neighbor and went in search of something to eat for her family. She didnt come back. Yiech was sent, alone, to the vast Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya.James Nyang Chiengjiek wasnt much older, a child who herded cattle, when soldiers tried to kidnap him and force him to go to war. He ran away and also ended up at Kakuma, a camp teeming at one time with nearly 200,000 people, all homeless, many of them hopeless.Scrambling to hide when her village was attacked by a rival tribe, Rose Nathike Lokonyen came across the dead bodies of her grandparents. She was 7.Paulo Amotun Kokoros childhood memories are of running, but not for fun or for sport. He ran for his life as bullets whizzed past his head.Anjelina Nadai Lohalith was separated from her parents as a child more than a decade ago. The 21-year-old hasnt heard from them since, and can only hope that the news passed on to her that they are still alive is true.What I want to be is a champion, said Nadai Lohalith, whose event is the 1,500 meters. One day, one time. She hopes for a successful Olympics but, more than that, a reunion with the parents she hasnt seen in more than 10 years.The rest of the team is made up of two swimmers from war-torn Syria who, separately, made the treacherous voyage across the Aegean Sea on flimsy inflatable boats to reach Europe. They then trekked from country to country seeking shelter.There are two judokas from Congo, rescued from war as children only to be abused, starved and locked in cages by their handlers as they pursued a sport they loved. And a marathon runner who left Ethiopia in fear for his life, who now drives a taxi in Luxembourg to make ends meet, trains alone, and still wins races.Make no mistake their places at the Olympics have been earned: All 10 have met qualifying criteria.Its still a steep curve, especially for the South Sudanese. They have only been in formal training for a few years at the most, some of them just months. But after the hardships they endured early in life, this challenge isnt that scary.If I compare the training or the duration of training with other people I am going to compete with, (it) is not the same. But, I do not fear that, Nadai Lohalith said.Theyve come a long way, but Wagner said if any of them get through the qualifying heats at the Olympics, itll be huge. But thats not the point.It was never the point.When you give these people hope, coach Wagner said, that made this project successful.They look forward to being at the Olympic village in Rio and meeting other athletes. They look forward to having their own uniforms and running shoes. They look forward to being part of a team.Most of all, they look forward.---Follow the story of the refugee athletes at the Rio Games at www.summergames.ap.org NFL Stitched Jerseys . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Nike NFL Jerseys China . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. http://www.stitchedwholesalejerseys.com/ .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. HOUSTON -- The huge offseason investment the Houston Texans made in Brock Osweiler paid immediate dividends in the season opener.Osweiler threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns in his debut with Houston to lead the Texans and their revamped offense to a 23-14 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.I think hes everything that we thought he would be, Texans owner Bob McNair said.Osweiler, who signed to a $72 million contract from Denver in the offseason, was helped by an offense filled with playmakers.There was nothing about the game that was perfect but we just kept playing ... and we made the big plays when we needed to, Osweiler said.He completed passes to eight different receivers, led by rookie first-round pick Will Fuller, who became the first player in franchise history to have 100 yards receiving in a debut with 107 and a touchdown. DeAndre Hopkins added 54 yards and a score and running back Lamar Miller had 106 yards rushing in his first game with the Texans.Osweilers day started with a hiccup when he threw an interception on the first drive, but soon got going and looked comfortable after that.Houston trailed by 1 point entering the fourth quarter before Osweiler found Fuller on a short pass and he scampered 18 yards for a touchdown to make it 20-14.The Texans added a 38-yard field goal later in the quarter to make it 23-14.Chicagos Jay Cutler threw for 216 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but was also sacked five times and hurried several others on a day when linebackers Whitney Mercilus and 2014 top overall pick Jadeveon Clowney led the pass rush.Those struggles occurred a little bit more in the second half when we had to play backyard football where we had to throw it to catch up, Chicago coach John Fox said. Theyre a talented front and when you get too one-dimensional like that, it becomes problematic for everyone.J.J. Watt didnt seem to be limited in his return after sitting out all of the preseason after back surgery. But last years Defensive Player of the Year wasnt as effective as he normally is, and seemed to have a tough time dealing with three-time Pro Bowl left guard Josh Sitton.WHATS NEXTChicago: The Bears have a Monday night matchup with thee Eagles on Sept.dddddddddddd. 19.Texans: Houston hosts Kansas City next Sunday, looking for a win to erase the memory of last seasons 30-0 Wild-Card loss to the Chiefs.CUSHING INJUREDHouston middle linebacker Brian Cushing, who had 110 tackles last season, injured his knee in the first quarter and did not return. Cushing started every game last season and 14 in 2014 after playing just 12 games combined in the previous two seasons because of two significant injuries to his left knee. Coach Bill OBrien didnt specify exactly what the injury was after the game, but said he would miss some time and theyd have more details on Monday.THEY SAID ITI love everything about him, Osweiler said of Fuller.WHITE MAKES DEBUTBears receiver Kevin White, the seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft, made his debut on Sunday after missing all of last season with a stress fracture in his left shin. He showed of flashes of the game-breaking ability that made him a top-10 pick and finished with 34 yards receiving. But his inexperience cost the Bears when he appeared to run a wrong route that led to an interception early in the third quarter.Ill talk to Kevin about it and that was his first game out there, Cutler said. But it left my hands and its my responsibility.Alshon Jeffery led Chicagos receivers with 105 yards.IS IT THE SHOES?Hopkins became the first to wear low-top Kanye West-designed Yeezy Boost 350 cleats on Sunday.He and two other Adidas players received the 350s on Friday, a day after Von Miller wore the high-top Yeezy Boost 750s in Denvers game against Carolina.They were great, Hopkins said of the shoes in the popular turtle dove colorway. It was just Adidas cleats with the Yeezy design on them. It wasnt anything different than what Ive already been wearing. Just the design.The star receiver, who was second in the NFL with a career-high 1,521 yards receiving last season, compared his ones to those that Miller wore, which look more like a boot.I like Vons, but I prefer these.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '