Long look at Top 10 title droughts

Cross the Hawks, well at least one of them, off the list.

The Chicago Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup since 1961 on Wednesday, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime.

And so ended the ninth-longest current title drought in North American pro team sports.

Like fans of the Anaheim (now Los Angeles) Angels, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints -- all of which won titles the past 10 years after decades of futility -- Chi-town fans lose rights to the prefix "long-suffering."

Of course, 'Hawks fans who also root for the Chicago Cubs have nothing to worry about. Their sports identity is safe.

There are teams that have never won titles, expansion teams of various eras that date back to the 1960s. All their championship-starved fans can celebrate, at least from a historical standpoint, is the near-misses and greats who passed through town.

But then there are teams, even storied ones, that have not won in a loooooooong time. Example: It's one of the great sports oddities that the Toronto Maple Leafs, an Original Six NHL team and one of the most venerated franchises in hockey (13 titles), has not taken the Cup back to the sport's home since 1967.

And don't even get started on the Buffalo Bills, who replaced the Brooklyn Dodgers as sports perennial bridesmaid in the early 1990s.

But even the Bills and Leafs can't claim to be among the longest futility streaks.

Of the franchises mired in the 10 longest current drought in North American pro sports, which is most likely to next win a crown? Here is one ranking (last title in parentheses). Of note: Five of the 10 franchises last won titles in a different town, while one has never brought home a championship.

1. San Francisco Giants (1954): With two young aces in Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, the Giants could contend for a title this year.

2. Philadelphia Eagles (1960): They made a Super Bowl with Donovan McNabb; can Kevin Kolb be the difference in actually winning one?

3. Tennessee Titans (1961): If Vince Young stays steady, and the team can build around him, the Titans will have a shot soon in a league that is more year-to-year than most.

4. Texas Rangers (expansion, 1961): The only team without a title on the list, the Rangers actually have enough pitching in a down division to at least make the postseason. Which is a start.

5. Detroit Lions (1957): Bold prediction alert: The Lions will be a playoff team in two years.

6. Arizona Cardinals (1947): They were within a Santonio Holmes' toenail of being knocked off this list.

7. Atlanta Hawks (1958): A very good team that is about to lose its stars to free agency.

8. Sacramento Kings (1951): Maybe if they move back to Rochester. In other words, not happening.

9. Cleveland Indians (1948): Rebuilding yet again. They had their shot in the mid-1990s.

10. Chicago Cubs (1908): Your father, and his father, and his father (and maybe even his) all said the same thing as you: Not in my lifetime.

Mark McGuire can be reached at 454-5467 or by e-mail at mmcguire@timesunion.com. Visit his blog at http://blogs.timesunion.com/mcguire.