Even though the Sesame Street characters weren't nominated if you look really closely at the end of the Piggy segment you'll see a photo of the Count in the countdown montage. Whether intentional or not, it's a great little tribute for Jerry. My bride saw this immediately on the first viewing.
Yeah. I saw the Count. It was a shame there was no mention of him or any other Muppets, though they did mention on GMA today that "Sesame Street" should have been nominated.
As for the other bit while he may have been under Piggy's threat you could still tell it was sincere. I mean she didn't really force him to say anything. Besides who else but Kermit could calm her down. Lol
You're right about that one. If someone like Gonzo had said that, she'd be:

Oh, who cares!
I'm really happy that 2 of them were Muppets. I will say they went out of their way to hide the Muppets being puppets, but the fact they basically out and out said ALF was a puppet made me cringe a little. Especially since I hear Paul Fusco goes completely out of his way to hide that fact. Kinda wish they showed a clip of his cartoon series too.
Plus, I hear there's a new ALF movie coming out. I know that's a bit off topic, but I just thought I'd mention it.
Hes been open with his relationship with Piggy ever since the release of the latest film. I'm guessing this is Steve's new take on developing Kermit's character.
Well, I've noticed it happened even before that. It seems like they have been established as a couple since IAVMMCM. I'm assuming that was around that time.