Are the sprint and verizon wireless networks the same?

I was looking at some phones that are out for the sprint network and I have verizon and don’t really like the software they put on the phone, ( I think it cripples the phone) and HTC is coming out with some pretty cool stuff in 2009. My question to you all is, If i buy a sprint phone unlocked, (not tied to a 2 year contract) can i activate it on a verizon network?