"Michael 182" wrote ...
So, here are some parameters:
$1,000, including enough memory to make the camera useful

10x or greater zoom for youth sports - soccer and basketball

ability to increase zoom for wildlife, nature photos - maybe attach to my
Kowa TSN 822 scope

use for pictures in my 182

What else should I be asking? Is this enough info to make a decision?

Well, my answer is: It depends on your quality standards.

Within your budget, I guess you can find a decent "prosumer" digital (i.e.
with a fixed zoom lens) that is good for normal size enlargements in good
lighting conditions. But if you want the ability to do make really big sharp
enlargements (or part-frame crops) and get noise-free (grain-free) pictures
also in less bright conditions, you need to look at a digital SLR. The Canon
300D is a breakthrough camera is this area, but with a decent memory ( for
example 2 pcs 512 MB CF cards ) it still exceeds the $1000 mark including
lens. On the other hand it delivers as good pictures as almost any 35 mm
film camera, unless you would use the very best professional lenses and
films.

The prosumer cameras have some drawbacks compared to the dSLR: The image has
more noise (or"grain") especially at high sensitivity settings used in low
light. There is often a noticeable shutter delay, which makes action shots
(sports, wildlife) harder. The viewfinder (optical or electronic) is not as
good. On the plus side, it is more compact and with a flip-out LCD
viewfinder it enables shooting from uncommon viewing angles.

Hope this helps.
/Nils