Well with lenses, don't forget to do the math related to the approx. 1.5 size sensor to get the true 35mm equivalent.

An 18mm wide angle on a DSLR is 27mm in equivalent 35mm terms, so an 18mm to 75mm would be your wide angle 27mm to portrait 112mm. At the 27mm end, you get wide angle without too much distortion which is very useful for scenics or when you want to get a shot without someone walking in front of you. With a wide angle you move in close for the shot. 55mm in the middle is what you see is what you get size-wise and 112mm creates a good head and shoulders shot without distortion. With macro on the same lens you can also do some close-up work of plants, dragon flies etc.

The second lens I would recommend for true telephoto would be a fast (low number fstop) 70mm to about 200mm to 300mm. In 35mm equivalency that is 105mm to about 300mm to 450mm. which gives you considerable range.
With this lens you would never be too far away from the action.

Camera-wise you should be looking for low noise (grain in film) at high ISOs.
This would allow you to shoot good photos in average to poor lighting conditions without always needing a tripod. Canon 40D, Nikon D300, and the Sony A700 are good in this area. I am not familiar with the noise stats on the Pentax line.

Of course a lot depends on whether you buy a camera for a fairly long time or upgrade frequently. If you buy for a fairly long time then go more expensive, since you get what you pay for. It also depends on what you shoot and how often you use a camera. This makes it very hard to generalize.

Tegan