Sprint threw a cold bucket of reality on the pipe dreams of AT&T's Randall Stephenson and Verizon Wireless's Lowell McAdam. It verified that it will be the sole distributor of the Palm Pre "through 2009."Sprint spokesperson James Fisher spoke in no uncertain terms. He said, "We have the Pre through 2009."

That means AT&T and Verizon Wireless will have to wait at least six months before they can sell the device, which won't put the Pre on their shelves until very close to the December holidays, if not into January.

This statement comes after AT&T's Randall Stephenson and Verizon Wireless's Lowell McAdam both indicated they'd be offering the Palm Pre at some point in the future. Verizon's McAdams went so far as to say, "Over the next six months or so you will see devices like Palm Pre and a second generation Storm."

Fisher's comments actually confirm, to some extent, that Verizon will indeed be able to offer the Pre in six months, as McAdam suggests.

Meanwhile, the buzz preceding the launch of Pre is practically rivaling the hysteria we experienced two years ago when the original iPhone first went on sale. Sprint spokesman Mark Elliott recently said, "We are excited about the response to Palm Pre, and look forward to it joining our line-up." I bet they are.

Eight days and counting.