Detroit — Ndamukong Suh and the Detroit Lions have agreed to terms on a five-year contract worth $40 million guaranteed, giving one of the NFL’s worst defenses a big boost up front.

Both sides were working on the language of the deal and it was expected to be done by this morning, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The contract could be worth as much as $68 million.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday night on condition of anonymity because the talks were confidential.

Detroit selected the former Nebraska defensive tackle with the second overall pick in April’s draft, hoping he could bolster a defense that has ranked among the league’s all-time worst in points allowed the past two seasons.

NFL

Jags DT Smith could miss season

Jacksonville, Fla. — Jacksonville Jaguars rookie defensive tackle D’Anthony Smith has an Achilles’ tendon injury that will require surgery and could force him to miss the season.

NFL: No discipline for QB Vick

Bethlehem, Pa. — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told Michael Vick he will not face disciplinary action following a shooting at the quarterback’s birthday party six weeks ago.

Goodell spoke with Vick Tuesday while visiting the Eagles during his training camp tour. Shortly after, the NFL released a statement.

Dolphins rookie LB done for year

Davie, Fla. — Miami Dolphins rookie linebacker A.J. Edds will miss the entire season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, coach Tony Sparano said Tuesday.

Edds, a fourth-round draft pick from Iowa, was hurt during practice in the team’s indoor bubble on the fourth day of training camp on Monday.

Falcons DT suspended one game

Flowery Branch, Ga. — The NFL suspended Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux for one game Tuesday after his arrest last year on marijuana charges.

Babineaux will miss the Falcons’ Sept. 12 opener at Pittsburgh. He also has been fined one week’s pay, $260,000 of his $2.2 million salary.

Eagles WR Maclin carted off field

Bethlehem, Pa. — Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin left practice on a cart after injuring a knee on Tuesday.

Maclin, a former Missouri University standout, hyperextended his left knee during afternoon workouts. Coach Andy Reid ended practice shortly after Maclin went down.

The team says Maclin will be further evaluated today. A first-round draft pick last year, Maclin had 55 catches for 762 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie.

Jolly agrees to settle drug charge

Houston — Suspended Green Bay Packers defensive end Johnny Jolly made a deal with prosecutors Tuesday to avoid trial on a felony drug charge and have the case against him dismissed if he stays out of trouble for the next year.

Jolly was given pretrial diversion, a form of probation that will have the charge against him dismissed in a year if he doesn’t break the law and completes other requirements, including 160 hours of community service. Part of the community service will be 10 speaking engagements where he will talk to children and others about the dangers of drug use.

NBA

Heat to visit Celtics in opener

New York — The NBA will open its season with a battle of Big Threes, then offer up the new-look Miami Heat against Kobe Bryant and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day.

The Heat will debut their All-Star trio of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh at Boston on Oct. 26 against the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics, who are led by their veteran group of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

Source: Shaq, Celtics negotiating

The Boston Celtics are making progress on a deal that would bring Shaquille O’Neal to the defending Eastern Conference champions, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.

Earlier Tuesday, the four-time NBA champion said he will be in the league next season and would rather retire than play internationally.

Police couldn’t verify call’s location

Memphis, Tenn. — Police dispatchers didn’t alert patrol officers or commanders to a 911 call from the phone of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright because they couldn’t confirm that it came from inside their suburban Memphis jurisdiction, documents show.

Wright’s body was found in woods on July 28 after he had been missing for 10 days. He was shot to death, and police are looking for the killer or killers of the beloved Memphis sports hero.

James thanks hometown in ad

Cleveland — LeBron James has extended an olive branch to his Ohio hometown in the form of a full-page newspaper ad, days before making his first public appearance in Akron since leaving for the Miami Heat.

“Akron is my home, and the central focus of my life,” James wrote in Tuesday’s Akron Beacon Journal. “It’s where I started, and it’s where I will always come back to.”

Baseball

Phillies place Howard on DL

Miami — The Philadelphia Phillies’ season-long wave of injuries has claimed All-Star first baseman Ryan Howard for at least 15 days.

Howard, who was leading the NL with 81 RBIs, went on the disabled list Tuesday because of a sprained left ankle. The Phillies said the sprain was moderate.

Cuban, Ryan face bidding war

Fort Worth, Texas — Bidder up!

The Texas Rangers will go on the auction block in federal bankruptcy court today, the most dramatic chapter yet in one of the most contentious sales of an American professional sports team.

The bidding will pit Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban against MLB’s favored bidder, a team led by Rangers president Nolan Ryan and Pittsburgh sports attorney Chuck Greenberg.

College basketball

Prosecution rests in Pitino trial

Louisville, Ky. — Prosecutors have rested their case against a woman charged with trying to extort millions from Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino in exchange for staying silent about a sexual fling in a restaurant.

Tuesday’s close came after seven days of sometimes lurid testimony and 21 witnesses. The star was Pitino himself, who answered detailed questions about the night in 2003 that he and Karen Cunagin Sypher had a sexual encounter in a closed Italian restaurant.

Sypher’s defense is expected to begin today. It is unclear if she will take the witness stand.