Does anyone else hear a funeral dirge whenever the name Sprint comes up? Maybe it's just me. Or maybe it's the fact that people are finally starting to realize that the upcoming Palm Pre won't save Sprint. Both the once-great carrier and Palm have admitted that they do not expect iPhone-esque lines at Sprint stores when the Pre comes out this Saturday.

Palm spokeswoman Lynn Fox told the New York Times that the Pre would take a while to catch on with consumers, and that people shouldn't expect packed lines on release day. She added “We're not like Apple”, which I'm sure is a fact her company's stockholders are lamenting right now.

While Palm's comments were pretty reasonable (the Pre looks like a great phone, and I'm sure in a year or two when it spreads to more carriers it will do just fine) the Sprint representative just sounded a little delusional. He stated that Sprint “didn't want” long lines, and that the low amount of buzz around the Pre would give Sprint employees more one-on-one time with their customers. He added that Sprint wanted each customer to “get the experience”.

I think Sprint is about to have a very disappointing opening weekend, and I think the same thing for Palm. The difference is, Palm hasn't hung all of its stars on Sprint, but the Pre is Sprint's last big chance to recoup some profitability.