Aaron Kromer to lead Saints in interim

The New Orleans Saints designated offensive line coach Aaron Kromer as their interim head coach for the first six regular-season games, when assistant head coach Joe Vitt will have to serve his suspension in connection with the NFL’s bounty investigation.

Vitt has been overseeing head coaching duties since Sean Payton’s full-season suspension began in mid-April, but the Saints initially held off on a decision concerning who would become the figurehead for the coaching staff when Vitt had to step aside in Week 1.

The 45-year-old Kromer is in his fifth season with the Saints and also serves as running game coordinator.

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Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid said there’s no question Michael Vick will be ready to play the season opener despite injuring his ribs again.

Vick didn’t practice Wednesday after bruising his ribs and the soft tissue surrounding them during Philadelphia’s win at New England on Monday. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback hasn’t been ruled out of Friday night’s exhibition game at Cleveland, though it’s unlikely he will play.

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Oakland Raiders backup quarterback Matt Leinart is OK to play after injuring the index finger on his non-throwing hand but still might be held out of Saturday’s game against the Detroit Lions.

Leinart, who received stitches in his finger after being knocked out by an illegal hit by Arizona’s Ricky Lumpkin last week, attended practice Wednesday but did not participate in any drills.

ETC.

Spanier, lawyers attack report

Ousted Penn State president Graham Spanier and his lawyers attacked a university-backed report on the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal, calling it a “blundering and indefensible indictment” as they fired a preemptive strike while waiting to hear if he’ll be charged in the case.

Lawyer Timothy Lewis called Louis Freeh, the former FBI director and federal judge behind the report, a “biased investigator” who piled speculation on top of innuendo to accuse Spanier in a cover-up of early abuse complaints.

Spanier did not attend the news conference in Philadelphia. But he told media outlets in stories published hours later that he never understood the early complaints about Sandusky, who this year was convicted of molesting 10 boys, to be sexual.

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Former boxing champion Johnny Tapia died from heart disease and high blood pressure and not from a drug overdose, his widow said.

Speaking during a news conference at the late boxer’s Albuquerque gym, Teresa Tapia said that an autopsy report showed that the death in May was accidental and was a result of heart problems and the onset of hepatitis C, probably from the many tattoos the boxer had.

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Defending champion John Isner overcame two rain delays to advance in straight sets, and Andy Roddick was eliminated from the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Open.

The third-seeded Isner, ranked 10th in the world, needed only 71 minutes to beat 13th-seeded Juergen Melzer of Austria, 6-4, 6-3, in the third round.

The fifth-seeded Roddick, a former world No. 1 player now ranked 21st, fell to 81st-ranked Steve Darcis of Belgium, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-3), in the final hard-court tournament before the U.S. Open next week in New York.

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Third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki remained undefeated at the Connecticut Tennis Center, beating Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden, 7-6 (4), 6-2, in the New Haven Open.

Wozniacki is playing in the tournament for the fifth time and is the four-time defending champion. The victory Wednesday was her 19th without a loss at the tournament.

Her chances for a fifth straight title improved Tuesday when top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska retired because of a sore shoulder in the second set of a lackluster performance against qualifier Olga Govortsova.

But another top player advanced Wednesday. Second-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic earned a 6-2, 6-4 win over NCAA champion Nicole Gibbs.

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Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic advanced to the Texas Open semifinals, beating eighth-seeded Sorana Cirstea, 6-2, 6-1, at Grapevine.

Jankovic, from Serbia, will face Casey Dellacqua, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Aleksandra Wozniak.

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Eduardo Najera, the first Mexican-born player drafted in the NBA, retired to become the coach of the NBA Development League’s Texas Legends.