It doesn't take more than two or three live interviews -- with Craig Sager, no less -- to understand why NBA executives have fallen in love with foreign players. First impressions being what they are, these guys have it down.

Did you catch how the international players -- five of the first 16 picks -- handled themselves on draft night? They're personable, they're confident and they speak English better than many schoolteachers.

(The Duke-Kansas-Maryland guys were exceptions, of course, even though Mike Dunleavy's "not my problem" comment about his father's future was uncomfortably terse. Understandable, but still terse.)

NBA teams are constantly telling their fans character is an issue, and maybe the increasing reliance on overseas talent is one of the results.

The other factor, though, is this: Basketball in the United States is rapidly becoming an individual sport. In the other countries, the team is still the thing. That's why European big men (Divac, Nowitzki, etc.) have always turned NBA heads with their passing. The international game is not geared to the individual -- not yet, anyway -- as evidenced by some of the minutes-per-game stats of the European professionals.

Over here, outside of the perennially premier college programs, the rules are different. American kids who show remarkable talent at an early age are shunted from "elite" all-star team to "elite" traveling team. Their teammates change, but their games don't. They listen to their summer coaches far more than their high school coaches, often because the summer coach becomes a de facto guardian on traveling teams.

You're on a team, sure, but the message -- spoken or not -- is simple: Forget everybody else and do your thing.

This Week's List

For perspective, I think my dad called Ali "Cassius Clay" til about 1985: Jay Williams pulled off the quickest and most quickly accepted name change in sports history.

Once us media guys realize we have the power to create this kind of chaos, it doesn't take long to develop a severe superiority complex: In the wake of his public smackdown with Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent told reporters,"I think if you guys try to create a dysfunctional relationship, that's a farce, too, because that's not true."

Still funny: Footage of Samaki Walker and Karl Malone in their respective draft getups.

Hey big guy, that GQ look is one your Harley buddies are going to love: Jason Giambi's clean-cut deodorant commercial looks better suited for Seinfeld or Ben Stiller.

Imagine if Selig ran the Brewers this well: Bartolo Colon to the Expos.

Experienced reporters know ... talk to the wife: Dominik Hasek, retired.

Then again, the really experienced reporters know Pulitzers come from the ex-wives: Tatum O'Neal told 20/20 that John McEnroe used steroids, cocaine and pot.

Now we know the real reason Steve Spurrier left for the NFL: In a stunning move for both common sense and sportsmanship, scoring margin has been eliminated as a factor in determining the BCS standings.

It's 4:30 a.m., do you know where your midfielder is?: San Francisco cops shut down several early morning World Cup parties because the bars didn't possess the right permits to be serving coffee before 6 a.m.

Take a week, get it all out of your system and then leave it alone -- forever: The Rockets' choice of Yao Ming will undoubtedly bring on an onslaught of headline puns involvement both the Yao and the Ming.

The most hilarious criticism of Yao Ming: He's no Shaq, you know.

One guy everybody will be wishing they'd drafted: Lee Benson.

Fire him, what does he care?: Charles Barkley is so good and so secure he can say whatever's on his mind, and thank goodness for that.

Today's health tip: Like Martha Stewart, we would all be better served if we spent more time concentrating on our salads.

And it goes without saying -- summer is the time for cold entrees: Jacksonville Jags' punter Chris Hanson, his wife and teammate Jaret Holmes suffered severe burns when a fondue pot fell at Hanson's home.

He might be a bit slow on the uptake, but once he identifies a problem, look out: Bud Selig has called for steroid testing for baseball players, tennis players and everyone on the Bowflex commercials.

Give us an honest 0-11 over a dishonest 1-10 any day: Cal football was placed on probation for five years and docked scholarships for rules violations.

Just for the heck of it: Clifford Rozier.

Here's a hint, Chuck -- the Southies got your resonance right here: The Red Sox are planning to experiment with large ads on the netting behind the Green Monster, and club executive vice president Charles Steinberg says, "We don't know how it will resonate with fans."

After all, they had no choice but to spend the money: The Red Sox owners say they need to find different sources of revenue because they paid $700 million for the club.

The biggest disappointment of the World Cup -- being deprived of South Korea's rhetoric for the final: Before his team's semifinal, South Korean coach Guus Hiddink said, "For the sake of Korean football and the Korean people, we will go like young dogs at Germany."

And finally, going into the weekend there's only one question on the minds of sports fans everywhere: Has Bruce Chen been traded yet this week?

Tim Keown is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at tim.keown@espnmag.com.