Canon, Panasonic or Sony - Low Budget

I really, really need some help.

I would like to buy a camcorder but I am really confused by all the specs.

I can't even figure out what to buy within the Canon brand.

I would like to buy something for around $350 used. I am willing to wait to find a deal on Craigslist or eBay or online somewhere.

The last camcorder I had was a Sony Hi8 so thats where I'm from.

I would love to have HD cause I have HD tv's but if it's out of my price range then just tell me. I would like the next best thing then.

Obviously I would like the most camera for the buck. Here is what I have in mind.

HD
Hard Drive or Flash/SD card (I really don't want to worry about tapes)
Small
I use a laptop with a dual core 2 processor. Nothing fancy. 2GB ram, and I have tons of disk space.

I don't have to have Canon but it would be nice because I think they make good cameras but I am up for suggestions.

Anyone that could help me narrow down my choices I would be greatly appreciative. If I need to bump the price up a little I guess I would consider.

I know I have probably left out pertainant info so let me know.

I have two kids so I would mostly be making videos of school events, sports - baseball and softball mostly, I have a DVD burner and I would like to put most stuff on DVD and share with the family. Please please steer me in the right direction.