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One performance in particular helped sum up the talent of Labinjo, as told by Postmedia Network in the weeks following his last game with the club.

It happened on a cool late-fall evening at McMahon Stadium when Labinjo made two brilliant goal-line plays against the B.C. Lions in the 2008 West Division final that preserved a slim Stampeder lead (he also had three sacks and a forced fumble). The goal-line tackles were replayed ad nauseum on TSN for the following week leading to the Grey Cup, and he was a media darling in Montreal that week, thanks to his play on the field and his ability to speak in public.

Labinjo would go on to play a critical role in the Stamps’ Grey Cup victory over the Montreal Alouettes, recording three tackles, a sack and three knockdowns.

A star player with the NCAA’s Michigan State Spartans, Labinjo would play in 10 NFL games over two seasons, in 2004-05, with the Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts, recording 18 solo tackles, a half-sack and one forced fumble. He then joined the Miami Dolphins but never saw action over parts of two NFL seasons.

From there, he joined the Stamps.

But his football career was cut short by injuries in his last two CFL seasons.

The Stampeders traded him to the Alouettes after the 2010 season, but that deal was voided a week later over concerns about his surgically repaired elbow.

Photo by Postmedia Archives

He was then released by the Stamps nearly five months later in May 2011.

“I think it’s been a tough last two years in Calgary with my injuries and not being able to play at the level that Calgary wanted me at and where I knew I could play at,” said Labinjo at the time. “My only regret is that I’m going to miss Calgary. I loved playing for Calgary, I loved the fans, I loved the city … Calgary is my home. That’s the part that’s going to be tough for me.”