Should any of us be surprised that the MTV Video Music Awards show was an utter disaster? What do you expect from the network with enough gall to green light a bisexual dating show featuring a relative nobody? But while it is easy for us to shine the light on the negative moments of the VMAs–because it does make for a better story–I feel challenged to highlight the better moments of last night’s fated award show.First, I want to take the time to acknowledge Britney Spears. Though she choked in her first performance since going down the downward spiral, Spears showed an amazing courage in the midst of her many snickering peers. (Watch her performance above.) It’s scary business getting up in front of some of your biggest critics–including an absolutely not funny Sarah Silverman–to perform after a rough year in the press. I commend her for her effort because I can’t imagine the courage it took to get up after falling down in the eyes of a harsh public. I only know what it is like to be resurrected in the comforts of my own home and before the eyes of God.God bless Sarah Silverman–not for her comedic talents (or really the severe lack thereof), just please bless her to know better than to not only knock a woman when she is already down but to bring the woman’s children into it. I should hope Silverman never makes any mistakes in public… oops, too late. (Sorry, I couldn’t let that one bad comment fall to the wayside.)Though the celebrities in the audience were in quite the unfortunate position of having to feign interest in an awful stand-up comedian and awkward award presenters, the fans benefited from being able to attend the concerts being held in the Palm Hotel’s suites. Acts like Kanye West, T.I., The Foo Fighters, Justin Timberlake, and Rihanna brought the VMAs back to the basics. I believe that featuring the suite performances between the dull award show moments was probably the best original idea MTV had since the first “Real World.”Keeping the on-stage VMAs a bit memorable this year were Chris Brown, who danced his way into the hearts of the audience via a Charlie Chaplin/Michael Jackson routine; Rihanna, who, despite a fractured toe, donned 4-inch heels and sung live–one of the few times in the night when an artist didn’t lip-sync; Alicia Keys who brought back old soul and real talent with the performance of her new single “No One” from her upcoming album “As I Am” and did a cover of George Michael’s “Freedom”; and Linkin Park, aided by producer extraordinaire Timbaland, who had a renewed edge on the bands new single “Bleed It Out.” Closing out the show was the night’s maestro Timbaland, featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake. Each performed a song from their own album and then the musical trifecta came together to perform “Give it To Me” the single which allegedly takes a swipe at music heavyweights. After writing all of this, I guess the VMAs weren’t as bad as I originally thought they were. I suppose that’s what you can walk away with when you redirect your energy and focus on the positive aspects of the show. The music is usually good, it’s just the network that has a problem. In the words of the Justin Timberlake to MTV, “I challenge MTV to play more videos.” Maybe they shouldn’t even have VMAs next year and substitute it for two hours of music videos.