Read 'em and weep: Here are the worst droughts in modern sports, non-title edition

Last home playoff game: January 8, 1994

The Lions have only played five home playoff games in their entire history, and three of those were in the 1950s. Having beaten the Packers in the final game of the 1993 season to win the NFC Central, Detroit welcomed Green Bay back to the Pontiac Silverdome the following week, and took a 24-21 lead in the fourth quarter on a five-yard touchdown run by Derrick Moore — Moore’s only run of the day as Barry Sanders carried 27 times for 169 yards. But Brett Favre threw a 40-yard touchdown to Sterling Sharpe to lift the Packers to what was Green Bay’s first road playoff win since the 1966 NFL championship game, before Super Bowl II.

Last conference finals appearance: 1979

The Kings have a longer title drought, reaching back to their days as the Rochester Royals — they haven’t been to the Finals, either, since 1951, rolling through Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Omaha without sniffing an NBA title. The Hawks, likewise, haven’t won it all since they were in another city, and haven’t been to the Finals since 1961, again as the St. Louis Hawks. The Knicks (1973) and Trail Blazers (1977) also have longer title droughts than Washington, while the Clippers, Jazz, Nets, Nuggets, Pacers, and Suns all have never won an NBA title. But making the conference finals? Every NBA team has done that in the 21st century except the Hornets, Pelicans, and Wizards. Only one of those teams was around in the 20th century, and it’s the Wiz, who of course were the Washington Bullets when they beat the Spurs in the Eastern Conference Finals, before losing in their bid for a title repeat against the Seattle SuperSonics. Washington also hasn’t won a Game 7 since 1979, the longest drought in the NBA.

Last division title: 1986-87

Shoutout to the city of Winnipeg, where there’s never been a division title in the NHL, but the Thrashers did win the Southeast in 2006-07, and by the NHL’s logic where the Jets are two separate franchises, that counts. The Oilers have been in Edmonton all along, and after winning the Smythe Division in 1986-87, went on to win the Stanley Cup… then another the next season, and one more in 1990 for five championships in seven years. It’s been generally horrendous for the Oilers, including a 10-year run without so much as a playoff appearance. The other dominant blue-and-orange team of the 1980s, the Islanders, are right behind Edmonton with no first-place since the 1987-88 Patrick Division.

Last division title: 1992

The Marlins and Rockies came into the National League in 1993, and while neither of them has ever finished first, it’s still the Pirates who have gone longer, with their last division crown having come in the National League East to cap a three-peat — all of which ended with losses in the NLCS. Now, here’s a question: how long will it take the Buccos to match the number of NL Central titles won by the Astros, who have been in the AL West since 2013? Houston topped the Central four times in five years from 1997-2001. So, don’t count on it anytime soon.

Last playoff series win: 1996

Everyone loves to rag on the Maple Leafs, and rightfully so, for not only not having won the Stanley Cup since 1954, but not having been out of the first round of the playoffs since 2004. But that’s only the second-longest such active drought in the NHL, as the Panthers’ only time advancing in the postseason was when they went to the 1996 Stanley Cup Final. Florida won the East by beating Pittsburgh in seven games, which does mean that the Cats have a Game 7 win to their credit, something that cannot be claimed by the Blue Jackets, Coyotes, or Senators.

Last playoff series win: 2002

Baron Davis had a triple-double in Game 4 of the 2002 first round as the Hornets closed out the Magic in Orlando, advancing to get their doors blown off by the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Having no doors made it a windy ride to New Orleans, where the Hornets moved the next season, but once that team became the Pelicans, their records reverted to Charlotte, whose history also includes the Bobcats. There were two Bobcats playoff appearances, both of which ended quickly, but thanks to the two-year gap between the OG Hornets and the Bobcats, Charlotte is only tied for the longest active series win drought in seasons with the Kings and Timberwolves — Sacramento last won the 2014 first round, Minnesota the 2014 Western semifinals… over Sacramento.

Last time advancing in playoffs: 1995

The Pirates haven’t won a playoff series since their 1979 championship, but they did win the wild card game in 2013 — over the Reds — and that counts as winning a playoff round. It could’ve counted for Cincinnati, too, but instead baseball’s oldest professional team remains the only one not to be able to celebrate moving on to the next round since sweeping the Dodgers in the 1995 NLDS. The closeout game was a 10-1 laugher at Riverfront Stadium, with the exclamation point being relief pitcher Michael Jackson’s three-run double, which also is the last time a reliever got a bases-loaded hit in the playoffs.

Last AFC Championship Game: January 8, 1989

Sorry to pile on Cincinnati… maybe there’s a curse of tearing down Riverfront Stadium? That wouldn’t really make sense, because how could that be a curse, but since they beat the Bills to advance to Super Bowl XXIII, the Bengals have not returned to the NFL’s final four. In fact, the Bengals only have one playoff win in the last 32 years, a 41-14 thrashing of the Houston Oilers in the wild-card game two years later before going out to Los Angeles and losing to the Raiders in the divisional round. Of course the Bengals lost in Los Angles — they’ve never won a road playoff game. Since the Bengals’ history only goes back to 1968, the longest road playoff win drought in pro football belongs to the Lions, who haven’t gotten one since 1957.