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CLEVELAND -- LeBron James and his?Cavaliers?teammates will be at the White House on Thursday.An unexpected guest will be there too.The visit by the reigning NBA champions will coincide with President-elect Donald Trumps meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss the handover of power and transition following a shocking election that left James -- and millions of Americans -- wondering about the future.Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a onetime Republican presidential rival who refused to endorse Trump and boycotted the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, also was to visit the White House on Thursday.James had supported Trumps Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, appearing on stage with the former secretary of state at a campaign rally in Cleveland on Sunday to urge residents to vote.On Wednesday, just hours after Clinton had conceded the election to Trump, James posted on his Instagram account that he woke up looking and searching for answers on what has happened. He posted the audio to Alright, a song by rapper Kendrick Lamar.The Cavs trip to Washington, D.C., has been planned for weeks. Coach Tyronn Lue, who received a phone call in June from Obama shortly after Cleveland rallied to beat the?Golden State Warriors?in the NBA Finals, wanted the visit to happen before the first African-American president left office. Cleveland plays the?Wizards?at Washington on Friday night.Lue won back-to-back championships with the?Los Angeles Lakers?in 2000 and 2001, but he failed to make it to the home of the president of the United States back then. He said its something he regrets to this day.As a young guy [I was] not really respecting what it was and what it meant, Lue said this week. We won our second championship and I was, what, 22, and I was playing for the Wizards and they came in town, they invited me to go with the Lakers. I just didnt go. It was stupid.But I mean, as young guy, you just take things for granted. You dont really understand those opportunities and what that means. Now Im happy with the fact that years later Im able to have an opportunity to go again. So Im going to take full advantage of it.James has openly expressed his views on numerous political issues in recent years. Following Trumps election, the three-time champion and father of three said he felt the need to offer encouragement to minorities and women.James wasnt the only Cavaliers player to express his feelings.J.R. Smith, who also attended Clintons rally in Cleveland, posted a photo to Instagram of his daughter standing outside the White House.How do I even feel confident sending her on play dates knowing the [kids] family voted for the racist, sexist person, [and] I dont know how they will treat her when shes gone, Smith wrote in the caption. How? Seriously How?Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report. Nike Sb Clearance Sale . LUCIE, Fla. Nike Sb Shoes For Sale . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. http://www.cheapwholesalenikesb.com/ . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. Nike Sb Cheap Wholesale . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Cheap Nike Sb Dunk . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Martin Truex Jr. sits on the pole for the Sprint Cup race Sunday, and he represents a core of 32 drivers that fans should keep their eyes on in the opening race of the semifinal round at Martinsville Speedway.All the drivers who no longer have a shot at the Cup title have no reason to worry about making any enemies. Some drivers are racing for their jobs. Others are probably just angry they still arent in contention for the title when the Goodys 500 green flag drops.Truex leads them all in frustration after a blown engine at Talladega ruined his Chase hopes.The vibe is everybody kind of has a little chip on their shoulder, and I think everybody wants to make sure that they show the other teams in the garage that we were for real and we just want to show them that we think we should still be going, Truex said. But things happen and thats the way things go. Its racing.Guys are just working hard, they want to win races no matter where were at, no matter what the situation is and I kind of share that mindset with them moving forward.Starting beside Truex will be Chase driver Joey Logano and behind Truex will start Chase driver Jimmie Johnson. Then three more non-Chase drivers -- AJ Allmendinger, Chase Elliott and Tony Stewart -- hold starting spots four, five and six, ahead of a Joe Gibbs Racing trio of Chasers Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.Truex didnt join his Toyota brethren in advancing to this round.I thought about it every day and every night and I just kept telling myself to just go win Martinsville and I would feel a little bit better, Truex said. [Winning the pole] is the first step in that direction.It shouldnt be a surprise that those non-Chase drivers were fast, except for an upstart performance by Allmendinger in qualifying.Lets be honest, some of the fastest cars in this series got knocked out [from the Chase] last week, and it proves that with Truex getting the pole today, so obviously they have a fast race car, Logano said. Theyre all out there trying to win.Here are four other things (or people) to watch Sunday:Joey Logano finally getting a clock: Logano had won the pole for three consecutive Martinsville races entering this weekend but still seeks his first Martinsville win and the grandfather clock that goes to the victor. He will start on the front row but this time on the outside Sunday beside Truex.Just because Logano has won poles doesnt mean he has had great races at Martinsville. He led 108 laps on his way to finishing third in the March 2015 race and then had a dominating performance going when he led 207 laps before Matt Kenseth took him out a year ago.But in April, he started first and found himself a lap down early in the race. He rallied to finish 11th.We took off from the pole and we were down a lap before the first caution, so the goal is not to do that again, Logano said. I think we learned from that lesson, which is good. That happens a lot in this race.If you watch them all, is all of a sudden one car that you thought was really good in practice youre like, Wow, what happened to him on the long run, and as the race goes it seems like it kind of mellows back out.Jimmie Johnson and talk of 7: With nine wins at Martinsville and starting third, Johnson appears poised for another strong finish -- and a win would only send talk of his winning a seventh title into the stratosphere as he would have one of the four finalist berths at Homestead.ddddddddddddThe Hendrick Motorsports driver has finishes of 32nd, 35th, 12th and ninth in his past four starts at Martinsville. He only has two wins in his past 14 starts at the track.So Johnson wont think too much about No. 7. Not that he would anyway.This Chase has such a different feeling than Chases Ive won in the past -- I still feel like I have this massive hurdle to get over to get into the final four [finalists], Johnson said about thoughts of winning a seventh. With that in mind, I have not gone there [in my mind].My chances are a lot better than they were three weeks ago for sure, but this format just requires such a different mindset and a different way to make it to the Final Four to even have a shot at the championship.Brakes and breaks, bad ones, for Chase drivers: Brake failures and other mechanical issues can occur at Martinsville, especially on what will be a hot day -- in the low 80s -- for Martinsville this time of year.And then theres this thing called pit road, and penalties at Martinsville can be devastating as track position is key.Plus, the bad breaks might not even be self-inflicted. Ever try starting on the outside on a restart at Martinsville, especially near the end of the race?It aint pretty: Its a challenge to get down, Logano said. Ill be honest with you, its hard. ... Its going to be hard because everyone [on the inside] sees that opportunity. You see that gap and theyre like, Oh.? Theyre going to take it and theyre going to charge it in there and just try to keep you up there [on the outside] for the next corner and then obviously as youre two-wide what does that do??The gap behind that person closes up because youre going slower because youre two-wide and then that guy catches up and its like, Oh, were just stuck.Jeff Gordon: One Last Ride. Maybe: Saving the best for last, Gordon has nine career wins at Martinsville. This very well could be his last race. Remember the excitement of his win last year? The only thing that could top it would be a win, something he wished he could have done at Homestead to drop-the-mic but certainly not a bad way to go out.Gordon is driving in his final race as a substitute for Dale Earnhardt Jr. (concussion), and is driving a car prepared in the Hendrick 48-88 shop. During Gordons past five years as a full-time driver at Hendrick, his No. 24 cars were prepared in a shop shared with the Hendrick No. 5 car.I feel like my car feels very similar to a No. 24 car that Ive driven in the past, Gordon said. It has good comfort, good speed and is doing a lot of the things that I like. I have been joking this year about when like at Dover I get to dr