I had the Canon SX10IS. It was really a great camera. It handled the majority of my needs. It was that minority that really bugged me though, so I ended up getting a DSLR.
For most folks though, that camera would be just the ticket. Even sports were a snap for the Canon. The big difference compared to the DSLRs though was low light conditions. Baseball and football outside - no problem. Even the action of kids jumping in the pool was easily frozen by the camera with very good image quality. Basketball, etc. - I took the shot below at a Suns game. I was across the court and up high in a suite. The shot is ok, but you can see I'm starting to pick up some noise. I wasn't great at manual settings back then, but I don't think that mattered much in this case. For kids sports though, you would be much closer than I was (and that crazy girl did end up dunking that ball). You do have that hotshoe for a flash. That would be great for indoors candids, but probably not bright enough for indoor sports.
As an fyi...the only landscape type shot I've had printed to hang in my house is also pictured below. Computers don't do it justice - I had it printed to 18x24" and it came out just beautifully - very clear and sharp colors. I shot it with the little super zoom.