Gary Wilkos has come a long way since the day he lay injured on the gridiron in Newark, Delaware, on Oct. 20, 1990.

Wilkos had moved up the depth chart to be the starting quarterback his sophomore year at UMass and was leading the Minutemen to their first win in school history against Delaware. The Fighting Blue Hens had won 14 straight games against UMass, some in spectacular last-minute fashion. Wilkos & Co. were returning the favor and before 20,000 fans on Homecoming Day but he wouldn’t be around to see the final score.

The lanky Wilkos had a strong arm and quick legs and loved the play-action pass. Midway through the third quarter he dropped back and started forward. “It was a designed quarterback draw. I think it was the safety … He came off his route and made a really good hit. I knew something was wrong right away because I couldn’t move my head.”

Wilkos had fractured the first vertabrae in his neck. He remained prone on the field for 36 minutes until an ambulance sped him to a hospital. He returned to Amherst but was confined to the infirmary for weeks with a “halo” around his head to keep his neck stable.

“Coach (Jim) Reid made sure I graduated on time, and Coach Cal (basketball coach John Calipari) got me over to a lot of practices. They were both really great to me.”

After multiple operations and years of physical therapy, the 46-year-old Wilkos is able to golf and toss a football with his 8-year-old son Drew. “Life is good. My business has taken off and I’m in the thick of the Super Bowl.”

Wilkos owns Ticket Media Corp., a Las Vegas-based sports entertainment group that markets travel packages to major sporting events. Asked what it would cost for two people to get to the Super Bowl and back, he estimated that roundtrip airfare, three nights’ lodging and tickets for two decent seats would be about $10,000.

“It’s nothing like last year, that was crazy,” Wilkos said, referring to the 50th Super Bowl between Denver and Carolina in Santa Clara. 

Wilkos didn’t hesitate to pick tomorrow’s winner. “Brady puts it on ’em, 38-21.”

Spoken like a true quarterback.

Of the last 15 Super Bowls, the only game that was a pick ’em was the Patriots’ 28-24 win against Seattle. Otherwise there’s always been a favorite and an underdog, and the dog has prevailed in 11 of the last 14 games.

This week gambling “expert” Brandon Lang appeared on the SportsHub (98.5 FM) with co-hosts Michael Felger and Tony Masserotti. “The best value is New England minus 3,” said Lang, who’s 21-3-2 against the Super Bowl spread. “Everybody focuses on Atlanta’s offense but they have no idea how good New England’s offense and offensive line are playing right now. This is the most important game of Tom Brady’s career. I will gamble on the 199th pick in the NFL.”

Despite reports to the contrary, Todd Dewey wrote in the Las Vegas Review-Journal this week that the Patriots are drawing only a slightly higher share of the action at the Sin City casinos. Dewey quoted MGM Resorts sports book director Jay Rood who said, “We’re getting a little more Patriot money but nothing to make us want to move the number just yet.”

South Point casino oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro told Dewey, “There hasn’t been a huge move on either side. At 3, we’re $50,000 high on the Patriots. On the money line, we’re $40,000 high on the Falcons. We’re $30,000 high on over the total (59).

Lang said he was laying off the over/under. “Mr. Hoodie (Bill Belichick) has me perplexed. Bill controls the total. If the Pats want to score 40 they can, but they can run the ball [and score less.]”

What’s come to the fore this week has been Tom Brady’s absolute commitment to football and no one got it out of him better than Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller on their “Movin’ the Chains” program that airs on Sirius-XM.

“Our offense is at a graduate level,” said Brady. “This isn’t a first-grade offense. When you come into our team you’d better have gone through the learning curves. We don’t want to have to dumb it down and have guys that are just learning to tie their shoes and bring their playbooks to the meeting.

“We have smart, tough players that never get complacent and always build on stuff emotionally and mentally. I’m in my 17th year and I’ve seen every coverage and every kind of pressure … Five nights ago I’m in Boson at 9:30 at my computer just ripping through game film. That stuff never gets old because because the payoff is playing a game like this.”

Anyone listening to Brady’s intensity and sense of purpose would be a fool to think the Patriots won’t win tomorrow. It won’t even be close. Atlanta’s good for four field goals and a touchdown but Brady’s good for a lot more. Final score: New England 37, Atlanta 19. You heard it here first.

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