The final three in 'Big Brother' is...

He was never deeply part of the "in" group, playing the pawn when necessary but otherwise considered expendable. Lucky for him, he managed to get himself back in the game after being eliminated once. And with his back against the wall Tuesday, he won Power of Veto and survived another week, forcing Vanessa to oust her buddy Austin Matelson and break up his showmance with Liz.

But Johnny's reprieve was brief.

Steve won the Head of Household, guaranteeing himself a spot in the final three.

He picked Vanessa and John for eviction, aware that Liz probably has little chance of winning and would be a great pick to bring into the final two.

The Power of Veto competition came down to Vanessa and John after Liz and Steve were eliminated. Whoever won basically would survive.

And who lost? John.

Vanessa took herself off the block and Liz by default was up against John.

But Vanessa decided to bring Liz, her closer ally, to the final three with Steve. Whatever deals she made were John were simply less concrete. She believed he favored Steve over her anyway - which was true.

So John was out - again.

He said he wasn't surprised getting cut. "I tried my best to cover my bases in case I lost the veto," he told host Julie Chen. "And I lost." He said he would have evicted Vanessa if he had had the chance.

Julie said he was erratic and illogical at times during the game. "Were you trying to throw people off?" she said.

"I think so. I tried all kinds of things.I didn't know what I was doing the whole time. Looking back, I wouldn't have done the same things." He said he should have gotten rid of Steve when he could.

He thinks the final two will be Steve and Vanessa.

I disagree. I believe Steve and Vanessa will be inclined, if given the choice, to pick Liz to take to the finals. Why? She may have two locked-in votes (Julia and Austin) but it's not clear if she'd get anybody else.

If either one takes Liz to the finals, I think they will win.

Austin would pick Liz or Steve over Vanessa for sure. Julia might go along with him. Atlantan Shelli Poole is clearly in Vanessa's court and Vanessa has a compelling case over Liz and Steve.

Vanessa has played the game harder - if not always wiser. She was deeply involved in the competition the entire 14 weeks from the moment she entered the house. She was the antithesis of the floater. Even though she burned people, cried a lot and often contradicted herself, she won plenty of key challenges and made so many alliances, it's hard to believe anyone could take her actions too personally. I just respect her for weaseling herself out of harm's way multiple times despite being a target at some point of everyone.

And the way she convinced twin Julia Nolan to pick Austin last week to compete against her in that Power of Veto competition was mental jujitsu nobody else could have pulled off. She gets major points for that move that helped break up the Austwin alliance.

Liz also won a few challenges but her strategic game was mostly hiding behind Austin. Sure, this meant she didn't have blood on her hands but clean hands don't always get the cash. She should get points for keeping the "twin twist" together long enough for her to play with her sister for much of the summer.

I personally favor Vanessa if I were in the jury house. If it came down to Steve vs. Liz, I would pick Steve. He is more likable and played a smart, quieter game than the two women. He too won key challenges in the final weeks after laying low for much of the first half of the show almost to the point of invisibility. That was clearly by design and it worked to his advantage while folks like Clay Honeycutt and Villa Rica's Audrey Middleton blew up.