Don't take this wrong way, but maybe some of you don't understand some of the basics of photography: the limits of hand-holding vs. shutter speed. The jist of it is that for every picture you take with a x mm lens, you should be using at least 1/x shutter speed. ie. For a 50mm lens, at least 1/50th, for a 300mm, at least 1/300 (so 1/500, 1/1000, 1/2000 etc.) When you take a picture hand-held with 10x optical zoom on your digicam, you have to increase the film ISO so that you can use at least a 1/1000 shutter speed. OR, get a tripod or monopod. Your hands aren't very sturdy; when your picture is magnified 10x, that shake becomes 10x magnified. (remember this is for 35mm film, so for them digital 17-46mm or whatever, convert it first)
So my suggestion, although its (200$ overbudget) for any of you voyeurs would be this dude:
http://www.dpreview.com/...panasonicdmcfz10.asp Which has the equivalent of a 35-420mm. The beauty of this guy compared to other cams with big zooms is that it has "image stabilization". (Canon is the most experienced in this field.) It allows you to take a picture with a SLOWER shutter speed (say you're at 420mm, you should use at least 1/500 BUT you'll be able to manage a 1/250 or even 1/125) by dampening the vibrations of your hand. Obviously its not going to work if you're waving your arms wildly cheering someone on, but with your concentration it will help you get a great pics without having to worry too much about shutter speeds.
(To briefly explain about Canon. Canon doesn't own the patent on IS (Image Stabilization) but they've got a HUUUGE array of lenses that support it. I've seen pics hanheld at 1sec that look pretty darn good; it works well. As well, Canon's AF (autofocus) is lightspeed quick. So if you're ready to invest, get that Canon 300D (digital rebel SLR) and get yourself some fast IS glass. This doesn't mean everyone is asleep. Nikon has their own version, VR (Vibration Reduction) and Minolta recently released some new toys (whose name eludes me))
One last note: Don't think that you NEED IS, heck, I've gotten loads of beautiful pics with my 300mm. Learn some photo basics, or get yourself a monopod and you'll be amazed at how much your pictures improve. Remember, IS wasn't around 15 years ago, yet there were plenty of cool pics - its all about the person behind the camera ; just like biking - it's not the bike, its the engine behind it.