"Choose, but choose wisely."

I love it when trailers for movies are unintentionally revealing. In one of the commercials for National Treasure, we have Nicolas Cage saying, "I think this dollar is trying to tell me something." Well, Nic, maybe it is and maybe it isn't, but no one can deny that you've been looking and listening awful closely since Leaving Las Vegas. If it please the court, the people would like to admit Exhibit A: Con Air.

You can't take an Oscar back, and no member of the 2004 Red Sox will ever be forgotten. Pedro Martinez and Jason Varitek face a choice similar to the one faced by Nicolas Cage in 1996: do we continue to pursue meaningful work, or do we cash in as extravagantly as possible in the service of less significant endeavors?

I understand that these two avenues are not mutually exclusive. Pedro could chase another ring with the Angels or the Giants. Varitek could be just the guy the Marlins need to bounce back in a relatively weak (sorry, Jay) NL East. Also, athletes have short earning lives, etc., etc.

Really, though. Winning a title is cool, but wouldn't defending one be even cooler? Pedro and 'Tek might make more money somewhere else, but of all the challenges they could undertake as competitors, isn't the most difficult and intriguing one to be found where they already are? There's only one way to find out.

Don't go for the summer popcorn flick, guys. Choose the best script.